


The Petrie Family Chronicles

by Michigan98



Category: Days of Our Lives, General Hospital, Perry Mason - All Media Types
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Tragedy, Child Loss, Coming of Age, Domestic Violence, Dysfunctional Family, Extramarital Affairs, F/F, F/M, Forbidden Love, Illegitimacy, Immigration & Emigration, Loss of Parent(s), Mental Health Issues, Murder, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Sibling Rivalry, Substance Abuse, Terminal Illnesses, Vietnam War
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-21
Updated: 2020-11-21
Packaged: 2021-03-10 07:40:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 2
Words: 23,399
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27649664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Michigan98/pseuds/Michigan98
Summary: Prequel to the Team Legacy Saga. Elena Petrie, the illegitimate daughter of Faye Petrie and Sylvester Alamain, leaves home to go to California on the ultimate adventure of a lifetime. Follow Elena as she embarks on love, marriage and motherhood and experiences the trials, tribulations and joys of life.
Relationships: Elena Petrie/Horatio Keller, Faye Petrie/Liam O'Malley, Faye Petrie/Sylvester Alamain, Ramona Petrie/Harold Buchanan, Ramona Petrie/Henry Sullivan, Roger Petrie/Donna Stephens, Sylvester Alamain/Karissa Boyd





	1. An Irish Romance

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everybody. Michigan98 here. Yeah I know... it's been a long while. And it's been a hell of a crazy year too. Who would've thought that we would be right in the middle of a global pandemic right now? And I was also right in the middle of writing my outline for this fanfic series when everything basically hit the fan back in March. 
> 
> I'm not going to lie, this quarantine took a huge mental and psychological toll on me and there were days that I just didn't want to write at all because of how depressed and anxious I was. But I kept on chugging on anyway because I wanted to finish this story no matter what. 
> 
> And even though I've already written 3 chapters so far, (and I'm still in the process of working on the latest chapter), I decided that now is as good as any to post this story. I meant to post this back when I started writing this story a couple of months ago, but you know... life. 
> 
> So okay... here it is. Long story short, this is the prequel to my AU headcanon crossover fanfic series, which is called the Team Legacy Saga. Even though most of the series will be centered around the main character Rhonda Petrie, this story actually focuses on her maternal grandmother Elena Petrie. This story will span the course of over 50 years, from Elena's humble beginnings in 1940s Ireland, to growing up in 1950s Alamania and then finally moving to America and setting down roots in California. 
> 
> Also it is important to note that this will also be the only story in the entire Team Legacy series where Elena's daughter Ramona will be seen alive in the flesh. I'm not going to tell you how she dies; you're going to have to read to find out. 
> 
> Also I did some research on what life was like in 1940s Ireland and the first three chapters so far were incredibly challenging for me to write because it required a lot of guesswork and imagination. But I think they turned out all right for the most part. 
> 
> Also before I started working on this story I did some research on Vivian Alamain to see if DOOL had ever given her parents names and it appears that they did not. So basically I decided to give them their own names. 
> 
> I hope you guys like this chapter and let me know what you think in the comments! 
> 
> Michigan98 signing off!

PETRIE FAMILY FARM 

NEAR DUBLIN, IRELAND 

AUGUST 1934 

It was the early evening and a group of three women were performing various chores together around the farm. One woman named Carrie was milking the cow while another sister named Leslie was checking the chickens’ nest for any sign of fresh eggs. Another sister named Frances was brushing gently on her horse’s mane with a thick, brown brush as she petted its face softly with a tender smile. 

“Any eggs today, Leslie?” Carrie hollered as she peeked from underneath the cow briefly while yanking on its udders rhythmically with her hands. 

“Just one, I’m afraid,” Leslie frowned as she reached for the egg. 

The chicken then clucked and fluttered its wings frantically as it sidestepped away from her with a wary and fearful gaze. Leslie then grabbed the egg carefully yet delicately and placed it into the wicker basket. 

“Poor Bessie. She’s getting really old, isn’t she? Not much use for anything anymore,” Leslie sighed sadly, gazing at the old chicken with wistful nostalgia in her eyes. 

“Ah, leave her, Les,” Carrie waved her hand dismissively as she continued milking the cow. “You shouldn’t be bothering her. She would just as soon peck ya eyes out.” 

“Ah, quit your bellyaching, Carrie,” Leslie scoffed. “She ain’t gonna hurt me. She trusts me. I’ve known her ever since she was a wee little chickie.” 

“Ugh, knock it off, you two!” Frances scolded her sisters sternly, still brushing her horse. “We need to finish up our chores. Ma is going to call us inside for dinner any minute now.” 

“Okay, big sis,” Carrie rolled her eyes with a deep sigh. 

Just then a young woman entered the barn, standing in the doorway. 

“Ma says you all need to come inside now.” 

“All right, Faye,” Frances said as she and her sisters followed Faye out of the barn. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

About 20 minutes later, the girls were sitting around the table with their older brother Frankie and their parents Miranda and Frank. Frankie was a tall, stocky and lanky man with short, dark, black hair and blue-grey eyes while Frank was more muscular, rugged and buff with light grey suspenders, a navy blue undershirt underneath, a pair of blue jeans and black work boots. He also shared the same eye and hair color as his son. Miranda also had a slender, thin and willowy build, bright copper red hair and green eyes. 

As for Faye, she had a slender, shapely and lithe build with long, shoulder-length, copper red hair and bright green eyes. Carrie had short, straight and wavy chestnut brown hair with hazel green eyes and a stocky, athletic yet muscular build while Leslie had medium-sized, silky, platinum blonde hair with pale blue eyes and a scrawny, bony and wiry build. Frances also had short, wavy and shoulder-length black hair with blue-grey eyes and a petite, diminutive and slight build. 

Frank then picked up a slice of bread and tore off a piece as he chewed on it slowly. 

“So girls, how was your day?” he asked. 

“Fine, Dad,” Leslie replied as she cut into a slice of chicken and popped it into her mouth. “I’m worried about Bessie though. She isn’t producing as many eggs as she used to.” 

Frank sighed as he continued eating his bread. “I was afraid that it would have to come to this.” 

He then swallowed and stopped eating as he looked at the girls with a solemn expression. “I’m sorry, loves, but we’re going to have to get rid of Bessie.” 

“No, Dad, you can’t!” Leslie pleaded in a fearful voice. “I can’t bear it! I won’t let you kill her!” 

“I’m sorry, Leslie. I know how much you love her, but we can’t afford to keep her around for sentimental reasons,” Miranda sighed in a sympathetic voice. “This farm is barely getting by as it is and we need to produce as much food as we can to survive. And sometimes that means killing the things we love.” 

“No! I won’t stand for it! I can’t! I won’t!” Leslie shrieked as she jumped out of her chair and rushed out of the room, sobbing and wailing hysterically. 

Frankie just rolled his eyes with a scoff. “What a cry baby. No man is ever going to want to marry someone like that.” 

“Frankie!” Miranda snapped at her son in a sharp and disapproving tone. 

“What? It’s true,” Frankie shrugged nonchalantly. 

“Speaking of weddings, aren’t you excited that you’re going to marry Liam, Faye?” Frances gushed at her sister with pure delight. 

Faye grimaced nervously as she played with her chicken absentmindedly. “Um… I guess…” 

“Oh course she’s excited, love,” Miranda beamed at Frances proudly, seemingly oblivious to Faye’s disinterest. “Why, Liam would make the perfect husband for my lovely daughter. He is honest, hardworking, kind, and loyal and his family also owns one of the most successful farms in all of Ireland.” 

“He also has three older brothers and a younger sister that would make perfect matches for the rest of you. As soon as Faye gets married, Mr. O’Malley is going to allow his sons to start courting you girls.” 

“Oh I cannot wait! I bet that Connor O’Malley is going to be extremely handsome!” Frances gushed. 

“I call dibs on Sean!” Leslie hollered as her head popped out of the doorway. 

“You guys are so disgusting,” Carrie rolled her eyes disdainfully. 

“Just you wait, Carrie,” Miranda smirked. “You are going to fall madly in love with an O’Malley boy too eventually.” 

“Only if he can beat me in an arm wrestling contest,” Carrie snorted, showing off her left arm. 

“That’ll be the day,” Frankie snickered. 

“All right, you kids. Now finish up your dinner so that we can all retire for the night,” Miranda informed them. 

“Yes, Ma!” everyone chorused as the entire table fell silent for the rest of the evening. 

Then a couple of hours later, Faye was kneeling right in front of her bed saying her prayers as she did every night. 

“Thank you for the blessings you have given me, O Lord. Thank you for the bountiful harvests you have provided for our family. Thank you for keeping us safe from the dangers of the outside world. Please comfort Leslie and help her weather through the loss of Bessie. And please send in someone that would love me as much as I would love him. Don’t allow me to be trapped in this loveless marriage.” 

She then crossed herself and finished her prayer as she climbed into bed and rested her head on her pillow. She then closed her eyes and soon fell into a deep and peaceful sleep. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

A couple of days later, Faye, Carrie, Leslie and Frances were out riding on their horses in the Irish meadows as they were enjoying the warm and breezy weather. They were laughing and giggling to themselves as they were having an animated discussion about their potential suitors. 

Just then they saw a group of well-dressed and sharp-looking men standing together with their rifles pointed up at the sky. One of the men launched a clay pigeon into the air with a wooden device while another one aimed and fired, taking down the target in a matter of minutes. 

“Aim, fire!” one of the men shouted as another clay pigeon shot into the air and another man aimed and fired at it with his rifle. 

Faye gawked in astonishment as she saw the clay target fall and plummet into the ground. She then watched another one of the men walk over to where the clay pigeons fell and scoop them off the ground with his hands. 

“Good show, men!” the man holding the rifle beamed proudly with a sense of accomplishment. 

“Shall we go for one more round?” one of the other men asked his companion. 

“I don’t see why not,” the man shrugged. 

Faye felt her breath quickly leave her body the moment she first laid eyes on the man. He was wearing a sharp, clean and black business suit with a black tie with a pair of black dress pants, a pair of shiny black shoes and a tall, black hat. He also had short, dark, black hair, dark brown eyes, a pointed, sharp, long nose and a dashing, handsome and youthful countenance. 

But then just as another clay pigeon shot into the air with a loud, thundering boom, Faye’s horse suddenly stopped and broke into a panicked and frantic run, neighing and whinnying loudly. Faye then screamed and cried in terror as she clung tightly to her horse and fought to hang on as the horse began to charge wildly through the meadow. 

The men then looked up just in time to see the horse lunging right at them with a mad look in his eyes. 

“Watch out! He’s coming right for us!” one of the men shouted as they jumped out of the way so they wouldn’t get trampled over by the horse. 

“Hang on, Faye! We’re coming to get you!” Carrie hollered as she and her sisters continued to pursue and chase her in a desperate attempt to save her. 

Just then the man decided to run towards the panicking horse and try to calm it down so it wouldn’t end up throwing off its owner and potentially cause serious harm or death. 

“What the hell are you doing, Sly? Come back here!” one of the men shouted in a terrified voice. 

“Yeah, are you crazy?! That beast is going to crush you to death!” another one of the men yelled. 

“I don’t care!” the man yelled back. “I’m going to save her!” 

Then when he finally reached Faye and the horse, the horse had finally stopped but was still pacing and trotting about anxiously. Sylvester then began to walk slowly and deliberately towards the horse, holding out his hands. 

“Hey, it’s okay. Easy there… I’m not going to hurt you…” 

The horse then glanced up and looked at the man as he continued to approach him slowly and steadily, watching him carefully. Then when the man got close enough to him, he held out his hand and petted his face gently. 

“There now, easy does it. It’s all right. No one’s going to hurt you.” 

The horse then calmed down gradually as its movements became more relaxed and docile and it lowered its head, whinnying quietly and nibbling lightly on some grass. Faye then rolled off the horse and took a couple of deep breaths as she struggled to recover from the ordeal that she just had. 

“Hey, miss, are you all right?” the man addressed Faye as he walked up to her with a concerned expression. 

“I’m all right now,” Faye smiled, breathing deeply. “Thanks for saving me.” 

“Oh there you are, Faye!” Leslie cried as she, Carrie and Frances finally caught up to her. “You gave us such a scare.” 

“I know, and I’m sorry...” Faye began to apologize but the man interrupted her. 

“Don’t blame yourself, ma’am. It was my fault. I didn’t realize that you ladies were riding in this area.” 

“That’s quite all right, sir,” Faye replied bashfully. “My sisters and I love to come out here all the time to ride our horses. We live on a farm about a mile and a half from here. I take it that you know horses too?” 

“Yes indeed,” the man nodded. “In fact, I own a horse stable on my manor back home in Alamania.” 

“In Alama-what?” Faye wrinkled her nose in confusion, having never heard of such a place. 

The man lowered his head in acknowledgement. “I don’t blame you for your confusion. Alamania isn’t very well known outside of most of Europe and only the very wealthy elite are even remotely well acquainted with our family.” 

“We are the most powerful and wealthy family in the entire country; in fact we own it. My father is the current ruling monarch of the land and once he dies, I get to take over as the new King. But right now I’m just the Crown Prince.” 

“Oh…” Faye frowned, a bit bewildered and puzzled by the whole thing. “So then why are you not wearing your royal clothes?” 

“Well, I’d rather not have anyone bother me during my stay here so I wear regular clothes befitting of my stature so that I can go about my business without drawing any unnecessary attention,” the man explained. 

He then stared at her inquisitively. “I never got your name by the way.” 

“Oh! Well…” Faye exclaimed, having forgotten to introduce herself. “My name is Faye Petrie. What’s yours?” 

“Sylvester Alamain, but everyone calls me Sly,” the man answered with a charming, wild grin on his face. “What a beautiful name for a beautiful woman.” 

Faye giggled as Sylvester took her hand and kissed it. Carrie, Frances and Leslie just looked on with concern and worry. They knew that Faye was meant to be married to someone else and the last thing she ought to be doing was flirting with another man, especially someone of a much higher social stature. 

“I look forward to making your acquaintance, Faye. I hope to see you more often around town,” Sylvester said. 

“So do I,” Faye blushed, clearly besotted with him. 

But then Faye heard someone clear their throat and she turned around to see Carrie glaring at her pointedly. 

“Come on, Faye! We better head home quickly so we can help Ma and Pa finish their chores.” 

“Oh, yes of course!” Faye gasped and she turned to face Sylvester. “When will I see you again?” 

“Maybe on Saturday we can ride our horses together, just the two of us,” Sylvester offered. 

“I’m looking forward to it,” Faye beamed and Sylvester waved goodbye as he rejoined his friends. 

“Isn’t he so handsome?” Faye sighed in a dreamy voice, watching Sylvester and his friends leave. 

“You can’t marry him!” Leslie shrieked in a shrill voice. “He’s a rich, handsome prince from a faraway land and you’re just a dirt poor Irish girl! Besides, you’re supposed to marry Liam anyway, who is better for you! Sylvester will never love you the way that Liam does!” 

“I don’t care!” Faye snapped back at her sister. “I don’t want to marry Liam anyway! It’s all because Ma and Pa are desperate to save their farm and they think that marrying us off to Patrick O’Malley’s sons is somehow going to make our living situation better! I don’t want to just settle for this kind of life! Don’t you want better for yourself, Leslie?” 

“Of course I do!” Leslie shot back. “We all do, Faye, but we all know that we won’t get any better. This is as good as it gets. Marrying the O’Malley brothers is the only way that we’re going to avoid having to live in the Dublin slums if we have to sell off our farm.” 

“I don’t believe it,” Faye pouted stubbornly. “There’s no way that life won’t ever get better. What would be the point of living if all we have to look forward to is misery and suffering?” 

“I hate to break it to you, Faye, but that’s just life,” Frances shrugged sadly. “It’s been that way for countless generations. I just don’t see how things are going to be any different this time.” 

“It’s no use arguing anymore about it. Come on, let’s go!” Carrie bellowed as the girls grabbed their horses and rode back to their farm. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

For the next couple of weeks, Faye and Sylvester spent nearly every waking moment they had to spend as much time together as they could. They went to the movies to watch the latest talkie films, they went to the annual horse show in Dublin; they rode horses together in the meadows when the sun wasn’t at its highest or hottest and they even went to the annual fall festival together with Faye’s sisters chaperoning. 

Faye was even delighted when Sylvester won a balloon dart game and got her a billy goat plush doll. They even rode on the Ferris wheel together and shared a kiss for the very first time. Before long, Faye and Sylvester realized that they were falling hard for each other and they wanted to spend a lot more time together.

However, Sylvester knew that he couldn’t stay in Ireland forever and when his vacation was over, he had to return to Alamania and his royal duties, and that also meant that he had to leave Faye behind. But he couldn’t leave without at least telling her how he felt. 

Late one night, Faye and Sylvester were lying together in the meadows while stargazing. Faye was lying in Sylvester’s arms and was trying to identify the many constellations hanging above them. 

“Hey, I think I see Aquarius up there,” Faye interjected as she pointed directly at the sky. “And I think I see Ursa Major up there too.” 

“So do I,” Sylvester quipped as he tilted his head up slightly. “Wait a minute. I think I also see Sagittarius.” 

Faye laughed and snuggled even closer to Sylvester as she closed her eyes and sighed. 

“I wish we could be like this forever. I wish I didn’t have to marry Liam.” 

“Faye, there’s something that I have to tell you,” Sylvester informed Faye. 

“What is it, Sly?” Faye asked curiously, glancing over at him. 

Sylvester sighed as he looked away at his love. “I’m going to have to leave Ireland in a few days’ time. This may be the last time that we ever get to see each other. Whatever we have going between us now has to end. I have a woman back home that I am going to marry and when I ascend the throne, she will rule by my side as my Queen.” 

“I wish that we could run away together. I wish that I could just leave all of this behind and be with you. Nothing would make me happier,” said Faye. 

“But what about your parents and siblings? Surely they would miss you,” Sylvester queried. 

“I know that they will miss me,” Faye replied wistfully. “But I don’t plan to spend the rest of my life in Ireland. If I could somehow get out of here and go and find a better life somewhere else, then I can rise above my meager and humble background and build a nice and wonderful life for us and our future children.” 

“Our future children?” Sylvester raised a curious eyebrow, a smile creeping up on his face. 

“I love you Sly, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you,” Faye declared, looking into his eyes. “I want you to be the father of my children.” 

“You do?” Sylvester reiterated, the smile on his face growing even wider. 

“More than anything,” Faye whispered and then she gave him a passionate kiss on the lips. 

Sylvester was shocked and taken aback by Faye’s sudden move but after he hesitated briefly, he decided to return the kiss and wrapped his arms around her. Faye then cupped Sylvester’s face and continued kissing him passionately. The two lovers then began to undress and before they knew it, they were in the throes of passion. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

A couple of days later, Sylvester said his last goodbyes to Faye as he boarded the next ship back to Alamania. Faye was heartbroken as she watched Sylvester’s ship leave Ireland, knowing that she was never going to see him again. 

A little over a month later, Faye was at home getting ready for her wedding. However, on this particular morning she wasn’t feeling very well and was vomiting profusely into a metal bucket inside the barn. She then rushed over to a nearby well with the bucket in hand. 

Faye then grabbed a hose that was lying next to the well and turned it on; she washed out the bucket as best as she could so that no one would see the evidence. Unfortunately, someone had already seen her. 

“Faye! What are you doing out here?!” a female voice cried and Faye glanced over to see Leslie rushing over to her in a shamrock green bridesmaid dress, a shamrock green bow tied in a ponytail and a pair of black Mary Jane shoes. 

“I’m sorry… I just got sick, that’s all,” Faye explained nervously, hoping that Leslie wouldn’t pry too much. 

“You’re nervous about marrying Liam, ain’t ya?” Leslie laughed softly. “I hope you aren’t getting cold feet.” 

“No, no, no… I’m not, really,” Faye shook her head, trying to sound convincing. 

Leslie narrowed her eyes suspiciously, not sure if she really bought her explanation but at the same time she didn’t want to start a fight with her, especially on her wedding day. 

“Well, come on then! The horse carriage is going to be here any minute. You don’t want to be late to your own wedding, do you?” 

Faye nodded and then turned off the hose before she put it and the bucket down as she followed her sister. 

A little over an hour and a half later, everyone was already seated inside the church pews as they were waiting for the rest of the wedding party to show up. 

A tall, dashing and athletically built man with short, dark, auburn hair and bright green eyes was standing in front of the altar with his father and his brothers, fidgeting at his bowtie nervously. 

“Don’t be nervous, son,” Patrick O’Malley assured him calmly, placing a hand on his shoulder. “She’ll be here.” 

“But what if she doesn’t get here, Dad? What if she’s already changed her mind and decided to not marry me after all?” Liam frowned worriedly. 

“She isn’t going to do that, son,” Patrick informed him sternly. “She knows how important this marriage is for her family’s future. She will not jeopardize all of that.” 

Just as he said this, the church organist began to play the “Wedding March” as the big doors swung open and everyone stood up to greet the wedding party. Frances and her sisters then walked down the aisle with white lily bouquets in their hands as they were dressed in shamrock green bridesmaid dresses. 

Moments later, Faye showed up in a beautiful satin white dress with a long, thin veil hanging over her face. She was accompanied by her father, who had his arm linked around hers and was beaming proudly at her. Faye then glanced up to see Liam standing at the altar with a small grimace on her face as her stomach twisted into knots. 

However, Liam didn’t seem to notice her disconcerted expression and he grinned widely at his bride to be as she reached the altar and turned around to face him. Frank then walked over to where Miranda was sitting in the pews and rejoined her. 

The entire church then fell silent as the priest looked over at his Bible momentarily before he gazed up at the congregation. 

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the holy matrimony of Faye Arianna Petrie and Liam Patrick O’Malley. If there is any reason why these two shall not be wed, speak now or forever hold your peace.” 

He then studied the crowd carefully and waited a few minutes to see if anyone was going to object to the marriage. Faye then stole a secret glance towards the church entrance and a part of her hoped at that moment that Sylvester was going to burst in through the doors and stop the wedding by declaring his love for her. 

But she knew that was never going to happen. He was probably back in Alamania by now, having forgotten all about her and moving on with a new love. She would never be accepted into his social circle, no matter how much she might have wished otherwise. 

Then after concluding that everyone present was in full support of the marriage, he turned back to his Bible and flipped a couple of pages as he then turned towards Faye. 

“Do you promise to love, honor and obey your husband through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, for all of the days of your life?” 

Faye blinked as she saw an image of Sylvester flash in her mind and she hesitated briefly. But then she shook her head furiously and took a deep, shaky breath. 

“I do.” 

The priest then turned his attention to Liam. 

“And do you promise to love, honor and cherish your wife through sickness and in health, through richer and poorer, for all of the days of your life?” 

“I do,” Liam said immediately without hesitation. 

“Then by the power vested in me and the city of Dublin, I now pronounce you husband and wife,” the priest declared. “You may kiss the bride.” 

Liam then pulled Faye into his arms and kissed her passionately as everyone stood up and cheered excitedly. Faye and Liam then walked out of the church as they were greeted by a massive confetti of flowers and seeds. 

Faye then tossed out her bouquet into the air and Carrie, Leslie, and Frances dove right for it as it fell into the ground. Leslie then shrieked in delight as she held out the bouquet in her hand triumphantly. 

“I win!” 

Later on that day, the O’Malleys threw a wedding reception at a local pub in Faye and Liam’s honor. The guests ate, drank, danced and mingled as they gathered together to celebrate the new union. Leslie was even flirting and batting her eyes seductively with another one of Liam’s brothers named Sean, who had short, dark, strawberry blonde hair and green eyes. 

Carrie, however, seemed really bored and disinterested as she listened to another one of the O’Malley brothers named Rory ply her with endless compliments and praises. Unlike the rest of his brothers, he had short, dark, black hair and dark hazel green eyes. 

Liam and Faye also had their very first dance together as a married couple. However, as the couple glided and waltzed through the floor, Faye found herself daydreaming about her and Sylvester slow-dancing together in the meadows as they gazed into each other’s eyes. Faye then snapped back into reality and saw Liam staring right into her face again. 

“My love, what’s wrong?” Liam asked. 

“Nothing, really,” Faye flashed a reassuring smile as the two continued their dance. 

Eventually the party was over and all of the guests went their separate ways. Faye and the rest of her family went back to their farm and they all retired to their beds for the night. 

Later on that night, Faye was sitting on her bed brushing her hair gently as her siblings were sleeping peacefully next to her. She was planning to spend one more night in her childhood home before she packed up her things and moved out first thing in the morning. 

Just then Faye heard a soft knock on the door and she turned around to see her mother Miranda walk into the room with a concerned face. 

“Honey, I need to talk to you about something.” 

“What is it, Ma?” Faye inquired anxiously. 

Miranda sighed as she walked over to the bed and sat down next to her daughter. 

“Leslie told me at the reception that she saw you puking right before you left for the church. You’re not sick, are you?” 

“No, Ma,” Faye groaned as Miranda felt her forehead. 

“Hmmm… well you don’t feel warm…” 

She felt silent as she pondered on what else could possibly be going on with Faye. Then an idea dawned on her. 

“Have you and Liam been fooling around?” 

“No we haven’t, Ma,” Faye shook her head. 

“Don’t lie to me, Faye. I know when you’re lying to me. You better tell me the truth,” Miranda ordered her firmly. 

Faye bit her lip and paused, wondering if she should even tell her mother what had happened between her and Sylvester. Finally she decided that it was no use hiding the truth from her. 

“It wasn’t Liam that I was fooling around with, Ma…” 

Miranda recoiled in horror as she waited with bated breath on what else Faye was going to reveal to her. Faye then took a deep breath and looked straight at her mother. 

“It was another man, and he wasn’t even an Irishman. He was a royal prince from a faraway land. It was just a passing fling, Ma, nothing more.” 

Miranda’s face paled greatly and her eyes darkened with rage as she realized what her daughter had done. Then without warning, she gave her daughter a swift backhand right in the face, nearly knocking her off the bed. Faye then recovered from the blow and looked at her mother in sheer disbelief. 

“Mama!” she cowered in terror. 

“You cheating, lying slut!” Miranda exclaimed in an indignant voice. “You have disgraced this family! How dare you embarrass and shame us and your husband by acting like a bitch in heat!” 

“I-I didn’t m-mean to…” Faye stammered, trying to explain. 

“Don’t you dare patronize me, young lady!” Miranda snapped. “You made your bed and now you’re going to lie in it by taking responsibility for this unborn child you’re carrying!” 

Faye listened with stunned silence as tears filled her eyes and she fought to stop them from falling. Miranda then leaned closer to her face and sneered at her. 

“You are not saying a single word about this to anyone, including the O’Malleys. We are going to pretend that this child is Liam’s and we are not going to let this child grow up a bastard. This child will have a name and his name is going to be O’Malley! Do you understand me, young lady?” 

Faye nodded. 

“Good,” Miranda grunted as she soon walked out of the room. “You are going to tell Liam that you are expecting a child and you are going to make damn sure that he knows that it’s his. I am not about to let my little girl’s honor and virtue be tarnished forever because of her youthful foolishness.” 

Then as soon as the door slammed shut, Faye then collapsed onto her bed and cried herself to sleep as she wondered how she was going to be able to convince her new husband that her unborn baby was his and spare her family the public humiliation and shame. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

A few days later, Faye was in the kitchen kneading some flour on the counter as she prepared to bake some bread. Liam was sitting at the table reading the newspaper with a grim look on his face. Faye then stopped what she was doing and stared blankly at the window, mentally rehearsing in her head what she was going to tell her husband. 

“Honey…” 

“Yes, dear?” Liam grunted, not even looking up from his newspaper. 

“I have something very important to tell you,” Faye informed him in a louder voice, bracing herself for his potential reaction. 

“And?” Liam scoffed, only half-listening to what she was saying. 

Faye scowled with a thin line. She then pivoted around to face Liam with a frustrated and agitated expression. 

“I’m having your baby, Liam,” she declared. 

“The hell you are,” Liam declared as he threw down his newspaper and glared at her. “We are not having this child. For God’s sake we just got married. How do I even know that it’s mine?” 

“Why would you even think that, Liam?” Faye gasped in a horrified and appalled voice. 

“Because I know that you barely paid any attention to me while we were still courting and half the time you acted like you didn’t even want to be around me,” Liam snapped back. 

“Well I gave myself to you the night after we got married. That should be proof enough for you. And I am not getting rid of this baby. I want this child more than anything,” Faye shot back insistently. 

“Oh yes you are,” Liam growled as he marched over to Faye and backed her towards the kitchen counter. “We have a farm to run and manage. It should be our most top priority. When it becomes successful enough to support both of our families, then we can start discussing having a family of our own. But right now you need to get rid of this child because we just cannot afford another mouth to feed.” 

“You’re a monster,” Faye sobbed as she began to quiver with fear at the prospect of losing her unborn child. “How could you even consider killing your own flesh and blood? I thought that you would be excited and thrilled to be a dad.” 

“Well I’m not. A child means absolutely nothing to me unless it’s a son that will carry on the O’Malley name. And if you don’t find a way to get rid of this baby, then I will do it myself, one way or another,” Liam snarled as he stormed out of the kitchen and started heading out the door. 

“And just where do you think you’re going?!” Faye demanded angrily, practically shaking in fury. 

“I’m going to get myself a pint at the pub so I can forget all about this godforsaken baby and not have my nagging wife breathe down my neck!” Liam yelled as he marched out of the house and slammed the door shut. 

Faye then collapsed on her knees and sobbed hysterically as the shock and disbelief of what had just unfolded washed over her. She knew now that the only way to save her unborn baby was to go to her new in-laws and beg them to convince Liam to not force her to terminate her pregnancy and make him take responsibility for “their” child. 

After crying it out for a few minutes, Faye then took a deep, calming breath, wiped her tears and slowly walked out of the house with a determined and resolute face as she headed over to see her husband’s family. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Faye then went over to her in-laws and told them about Liam’s plan to have her terminate her pregnancy. To her great relief and joy they immediately objected and informed her that it would be a grave and unconscionable sin to take the life of an unborn child. Patrick then vowed to track down his son’s whereabouts and knock some sense into him. 

He then spent the next couple of hours asking around for any sign of Liam. Eventually he found out from a passerby that he was actually at a local watering hole called McCready’s and he went over there to talk to him. 

Meanwhile at McCready’s, Liam was sitting in a large, round table playing cards and drinking beer with a group of other young men. They were laughing and howling raucously and loudly as they were throwing down their cards periodically and taking occasional sips of their beer. 

Liam then smirked as he laid down another card before he noticed his father approaching their table from the corner of his eye and glanced up to see him. The other men perked up to see Patrick advancing closer to them and one of them turned to face Liam. 

“Hey, Liam, ain’t that your old man?” 

“Yeah,” Liam growled, narrowing his eyes as he clutched his beer bottle tightly. “What the hell is he doing here?” 

He then suddenly stood up and walked out of the table as he glanced over towards his friends. 

“I’ll be right back, lads. I need to go talk with my pops for a moment.” 

Patrick then beckoned Liam to follow him as they walked away from the table and soon moved over to the other side of the bar where nobody could hear them. 

“Dad, what are you doing here?” Liam demanded. “Can’t you see that I’m busy with my friends right now?” 

“We need to have a very important discussion, son. It’s about your new wife,” Patrick replied. 

Liam scoffed disdainfully and threw up his hands. “I already told you, Dad. I don’t want this baby. I need to focus on our farm. To be honest, I’m not even sure that it’s mine.” 

“What makes you think that, son?” Patrick asked curiously. 

Liam sighed and closed his eyes, rubbing his temples. “I know that she was never that into me, Dad. I know that she only married me for financial security so that her family could prosper. I’ve been hearing a lot of rumors about her hanging around this older, rich guy but no one has ever found out who he was. But I know for a fact that the baby simply isn’t mine.” 

“That may be so but you are still Faye’s husband. You are responsible for her safety and wellbeing,” Patrick retorted in a calm and stern voice. “Your job is to provide and look after her and her child, regardless of whether or not it’s truly yours. You have a moral and legal obligation to the child because you are the only father that it will ever know. This child deserves a chance to live. Will you deny it that chance because of your selfish desires?” 

Liam stewed silently with a grimace as he took a big sip of his beer, thinking it over for several minutes. Finally he looked over at his father with a resigned and disgruntled look on his face. 

“Okay, Dad. I suppose you are right. I’ll do everything that I can to be there for Faye and her child.” 

“That’s my boy,” Patrick smiled approvingly as he patted him on the shoulder. “I think this calls for a celebratory drink.” 

“Well I guess it’s on me then,” Liam replied as Patrick chuckled and the two men walked over to the bartender to order more drinks. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

O’MALLEY FAMILY FARM 

NEAR DUBLIN, IRELAND 

MAY 11TH, 1935 

“Now just one more push, Mrs. O’Malley. You’re almost there,” the doctor urged Faye as she lay on the bed, pushing and grunting with her legs spread open as her shrill screams filled the entire room. 

“I really hope that this is all over soon. I don’t think that I can deal with this for another single minute,” Leslie whimpered as she and the rest of her family waited outside in the living room. 

Miranda held her rosary and silently prayed to herself while Frank paced around nervously in front of her. Liam just stared at the floor with a blank and emotionless face, not reacting or moving. 

Finally after a few more minutes, there was the sound of a baby crying coming from the bedroom as everyone looked up to see the doctor walking out with a bright grin on his face. 

“Congratulations! It’s a beautiful baby girl.” 

Liam’s heart sunk into the pit of his stomach the very minute he heard the news. He didn’t even get up from his seat as everyone else rose to their feet and began filing into the room to see the new baby. 

As soon as they entered the room, they noticed Faye sitting upright in her bed, beaming with pride and joy as her newborn baby lay snug in her arms. She then kissed her head gently as the baby cooed and gurgled softly while looking up at her mother. 

“My Lena,” Faye whispered softly to her new daughter as she breathed into her skin, memorizing her baby’s scent. 

“You did a wonderful job, my love,” Miranda beamed proudly at Faye as she approached her bed and gazed down at her new granddaughter. “She is just so precious.” 

“I can’t believe that she’s all mine,” Faye gaped in astonishment as she watched Lena sleep soundly. “She’s actually all mine.” 

“I remember when you were born,” Miranda informed Faye pithily as she caressed Lena’s face softly. “It was the most wonderful day of my entire life. You look just like her when you were a baby.” 

“I did?” Faye inquired. 

“Yep. The way you smiled, the way those eyes twinkled when you looked up at me… there’s nothing more powerful and awe-inspiring than a mother’s love for her child. I hope that you are ready to make the necessary sacrifices for your child. You aren’t a little girl anymore. You’re a wife and mother now.” 

“I know, Ma,” Faye sighed sadly. “But I’m just not so sure about Liam. He hasn’t even come in to see our daughter yet.” 

“Give him time. He’ll come around,” Miranda tried to reassure her. “This is all just brand new to him. Once the shock eventually wears off, he will get used to the idea of being a father and husband and he will embrace you both wholeheartedly. In time you two will learn to love each other. Marriage takes great work, dedication and faith. And always remember to put God at the center of everything.” 

“Yes, Mama,” Faye nodded. 

“That’s my girl,” Miranda smiled as she kissed Faye on the head. “And don’t ever think for a minute that I don’t love you just because you made a mistake with that prince. Your daughter is going to be a part of this family no matter what, I can promise you that.” 

“Mama,” Faye sniffled as her eyes welled up with tears and she embraced her mother tightly, burying her face on her shoulder. 

Moments later, Liam suddenly entered the room and approached his wife and mother-in-law. He then leaned in closer to see the baby and saw that she had dark brown eyes and a long, pointed, angular nose – the very same eyes and nose as Sylvester. 

Liam then suddenly froze in horror as he soon realized the truth that was staring him right in the face and he quickly bolted right out of the room in a panic. Miranda, Faye and the others gawked at the empty doorway in stunned silence as they all looked at each other awkwardly. Lena then started to whimper and cry as Faye shushed her gently and began to bounce her lightly on her shoulder. 

Carrie and Frances grimaced and recoiled at each other. 

“This can’t be good,” Carrie said to Frances. 

“We can’t let anybody in town know that Liam isn’t really the baby’s father. We’ll all be ruined,” Frances trembled in fear. 

Just then the doctor returned with a blank birth certificate and handed it over to Faye. 

“Now I just need you to fill this out for me, Mrs. O’Malley. I need you to give me the baby’s name and the father’s name. I’m assuming that he is your husband.” 

Faye then paused and looked over at the document for a few minutes while she and her mother exchanged a silent, knowing glance. Finally she turned around to face the doctor and nodded. 

“Yes. Yes he is,” she said. 

Faye then took a few minutes to fill out the birth certificate before she handed it over to the doctor. The doctor then read it over before glancing back at Faye. 

“So the baby’s name is Lena Fiona O'Malley? And her father is your husband Liam O’Malley?” 

“Yes, doctor,” Faye nodded. 

“Very well,” the doctor sighed as he packed up his supplies and walked out of the room. 

Faye then lay down on her side and closed her eyes. 

“I’m very tired, Mama. I think I’m going to go rest now.” 

“That’s fine, dear,” Miranda said as she picked up Lena and held her in her arms. “You just rest now and let me look after the little one.” 

“Thanks, Mama,” Faye yawned as she drifted off to sleep. 

Miranda then smiled at her daughter as she cradled the baby and walked out of the room with her. But just as she walked right past Liam, Liam shot a dirty look in her direction as he scowled at her and the child. 

“So she’s dared to make a fool out of me?” Liam growled softly. “I won’t make that same mistake again. I’ll tolerate that little bastard’s presence for as long as I need to… then when she gets old enough, I’ll get rid of her once and for all. Then she won’t serve as a reminder of her mother’s deceit and betrayal. She’s no daughter of mine. I’ll never accept her as my flesh and blood.” 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

SIX MONTHS LATER 

ST. THOMAS CATHOLIC CHURCH 

DUBLIN, IRELAND 

Unfortunately for Faye, her mother’s words did not come to pass. After Lena was born, Liam began to change right before her very eyes. He was no longer the kind, considerate and decent man that she thought she had married. 

He became more distant, cold and aloof as he began to avoid his wife and newborn ‘child’ and spent more and more time at the local pub. Even on the very day of Lena’s christening, Liam was nowhere to be found. 

Faye was mustering all of the strength that she had within herself to not break down and cry as she and her loved ones watched the priest sprinkle holy water gently onto Lena’s forehead. 

She then looked around surreptitiously and watched all of the other churchgoers whisper amongst themselves and glanced over at the empty pew where Liam and his brothers should be. Patrick, his wife Debra, and their daughter Debbie were the only ones in attendance. Frankie, oddly enough, was also nowhere to be seen. 

“Don’t worry, love. I’m sure that they will meet us back at the farm for Lena’s christening party,” Leslie assured Faye. 

“They should be here,” Faye pouted angrily in a low voice. “This was supposed to be Lena’s special day where she is officially welcomed as a child of God. They are making a mockery of all of us by getting hammered at the pub instead of coming here and honoring Lena.” 

“Men are stupid; what can I tell ya?” Leslie shrugged. “Just get over it. No need to be that upset over it.” 

Faye was about to protest but decided to bite her tongue and say nothing. She was determined to give Liam a piece of her mind when he came home. She was not about to let him off the hook. 

Then several hours later, the party had ended and all of the guests were already gone. Faye was busy cleaning up the kitchen while Liam was sitting half-asleep on a chair in the living room. After she finished picking up everything, she then went over to Liam and leaned over towards him, nudging him gently. 

“Liam? Liam? Are you awake, love?” 

“What is it, woman?” Liam grunted, barely opening his eyes. “Can’t ya leave me be in peace?” 

“We need to talk,” Faye declared and Liam bolted upright, glaring at her darkly. 

“I said leave me be, woman. I’m trying to sleep. I’ve had a very long day.” 

“You should have been there at the church with us, Liam!” Faye exploded, not willing to tolerate Liam’s dismissive attitude anymore. “You should have been there to celebrate one of the most important days of Lena’s entire life! Instead you were off at the pub getting wasted off your ass along with the rest of your drinking buddies, including my own brother! It’s like you don’t even care about me or our child!” 

“She is not mine!” Liam roared as he jumped up to his feet and scowled at Faye. “She never has been and never will be mine! As long as there is breath in my body, I will never accept her as my flesh and blood.” 

“The only reason why I still agreed to marry you even after you betrayed me was so that my father could gain access to your family’s farm. You should be grateful that you are not living in a house for unwed mothers right now – because that is exactly where you belong. I can’t even stand the sight of you, you cheap, tawdry, salacious whore!” 

Faye then recoiled and drew back in horror as Liam advanced menacingly towards her and gave her a swift and heavy backhand that sent her tumbling to the ground. Then once Faye was lying on her right side, dazed and bewildered, Liam then delivered a swift kick to Faye’s face, causing blood to gush out of her nose. 

“Liam, stop! Please stop, no! Please stop!” Faye pleaded fearfully as Liam kept on kicking her repeatedly in the face, causing more and more blood to spill onto her mouth and chin with dark bruises all over her eyes. 

Then Liam delivered one more swift and powerful kick to Faye’s jaw, causing her to shriek and howl in agony. 

“Miserable bitch!” he snarled contemptuously as he spat in her face and walked away. 

Faye then rolled onto her belly feebly and tried to crawl out of the living room as tears stung her eyes and mixed in with the blood dripping and pouring all over her face. 

Then after she managed to drag herself into the room and climb onto the bed, she lay on her right side and closed her eyes. She then began to cry bitterly, realizing too late that she may have just made the worst mistake of her entire life. And now she and her daughter were going to suffer for it.


	2. Childhood Scars

OCTOBER 1945 

O’MALLEY FAMILY FARM 

NEAR DUBLIN, IRELAND 

10 years had passed and Lena was now a lively, adventurous and bright-eyed little girl. It was later in the afternoon as she and her younger half-sister Aurora were busy playing hide and seek around the barn. 

“Nine… eight… seven… six… five, four, three, two, one! Ready or not, here I come!” Lena yelled as she turned away from the well that she was counting from and dashed off in search of Aurora. 

She then darted into the barn with an eager and determined expression on her face as she carefully scanned the area and saw many of the horses and cows dozing off peacefully. 

As Lena ventured deeper into the barn, she could hear the faint sounds of Aurora’s giggling and laughing from a distance. She smirked mischievously with a triumphant gleam in her eyes, knowing that Aurora was trying very hard not to give away her location but not exactly succeeding. 

Lena then crept slowly towards one of the horse stalls and ducked around to see if Aurora was hiding in there. Then once she spotted a young girl with dark auburn hair and bright green eyes secretly tucked away in a tiny corner just a few inches away from the horse’s rear, she reached over and tapped her on her forehead. 

“Gotcha! Now you’re it!” Lena beamed with smug satisfaction and Aurora groaned as she slowly emerged out of her hiding spot. 

“How do you always know where to find me, Lena?” Aurora grumbled. 

“You need to be better at hiding, ‘Ro,” Lena grinned. “I shouldn’t have to find you so easily.” 

“All right then, maybe next time you do the hiding and I’ll do the seeking. Let’s see how long it’s going to take for me to find you,” Aurora growled with an exasperated look on her face. 

“Girls, it’s time to come inside. Your father has brought home some dinner,” Faye informed her daughters as she walked into the barn. 

“Oh boy! Are we going to eat fish tonight?” Lena cheered excitedly. 

“I hope so. He was supposed to be out fishing at the lake today with the twins,” Aurora replied. 

“Race ya!” Lena laughed as she playfully shoved her and took off. 

“Hey, no fair!” Aurora frowned as she raced off after her sister. 

Faye then shook her head with a knowing smile as she watched her girls disappear around the corner. 

But then just as the girls arrived in the kitchen, they stopped dead in their tracks the minute that their eyes met with Liam’s. Liam then scowled with a disapproving and disdainful sneer as he crossed his arms and glared at them. 

“What are you two doing? Go and clean up!” 

“Yes sir,” the girls chorused with fearful, wide eyes as they raced over to the sink and washed their hands. 

Nearly an hour and a half passed before the fish was fully prepared and everyone was seated at the table, all except for Lena. Lena was sitting alone in a tiny table in the far off right hand corner of the kitchen, looking very glum and subdued. 

Aurora was sitting to her mother’s left while the twins Cayden and Ian were seated on either side of Liam. Everyone else was eating big portions of the fish while Lena was served only a sizable portion. 

Cayden and Ian also looked like virtual identical copies of Liam – dark, medium, auburn hair and bright green eyes – except that Cayden was much bigger, taller and more muscular and athletically built than Ian. Ian was much smaller, scrawnier and thinner in comparison. 

“So how was fishing today, boys?” Faye asked her sons. 

“It was awesome! Dad and I caught a big one!” Cayden crowed as he stuffed a big chunk of fish into his mouth. 

“I only caught a small fry,” Ian frowned sadly, hanging his head in defeat. 

“That’s all right, son,” Liam consoled his son by rubbing his shoulder affectionately. “You will have better luck next time.” 

“Okay, Dad,” Ian sighed, popping another piece of fish into his mouth. 

Liam then proceeded to drink half of his beer as he eyed Faye suspiciously. 

Faye then glanced over at Lena as she watched her fidget with her plate anxiously. 

“Honey, how is your food?” 

Lena did not respond as she picked up her fork and chewed silently. 

“Lena, your mother is talking to you! Answer her question!” Liam yelled as he slammed his fist on the table, startling her. 

Lena swallowed and stared at her stepfather with terror in her eyes. 

“It’s good, sir.” 

“When I speak, you answer. Is that clear?” Liam sneered in a deadly and cold voice. 

“Yes sir,” was all that Lena said. 

“If you are going to act like a spoiled, ungrateful, little brat, then I suggest that you leave this table and go back to the barn for the night. It’s not every day that you get to eat fish instead of table scraps,” Liam scoffed. 

“Liam, stop being so harsh!” Faye chided him sternly. “She’s just a child.” 

“She needs to learn her place,” Liam growled viciously, clutching his beer tightly. “She is your responsibility and you need to make sure that she earns her keep.” 

“She is earning her keep!” Faye cried, standing up from her seat. “She and Aurora do their chores and homework every single day. I make sure of that. And she is doing well in school too!” 

“Did I say that you can speak, woman? Sit the fuck down!” Liam exploded as Faye shrank back into her chair, barely able to contain the shivers running down her body. 

Liam then shot a dirty look at the rest of the group as his bottom lip curled into a snarl. 

“And that goes for the rest of you! We need to do everything that we can to keep this farm up and running! I’m the one who’s in charge of it now that Dad is gone! I can’t believe that I have to deal with all of you ungrateful, worthless good-for-nothings every single goddamn day!” 

Faye and the kids kept their heads down and remained deathly silent as Liam continued on his drunken tirade. He then took another swig of his beer, picked up his plate of fish and then flung it right at Faye, barely missing her as she yelped in terror. 

Liam then turned to face Faye with a cruel, vicious, evil look in his eyes. 

“I curse the day that I decided to marry you, you worthless, faithless wench!” 

“No, stop!” Faye pleaded as she got up and hugged Lena and Aurora. “Please, you’re scaring the children!” 

“Oh am I?” Liam scoffed as he advanced towards his wife slowly yet deliberately and his face started to become more maniacal and unhinged. “Am I?!” 

“Don’t you dare harm our children!” Faye yelled furiously as she backed away from Liam frantically while still holding the girls in her arms. “I won’t let you!” 

“Daddy, Daddy, stop!” Ian pleaded as he rushed over to save his mother and sisters. 

But then Liam glanced over to see Ian rushing over to him and knocked him away with his hand. 

“Away, you little brat!” 

Ian then tumbled to the ground and had the wind knocked out of him. 

“Brother, are you all right?” Cayden asked as he dashed over to assist his younger twin. 

“I’m fine, Cay,” Ian insisted stoically as Cayden helped him up to his feet. 

Liam then stormed over to Faye and grabbed her by the arm as he dragged her away, forcing her to let go of Lena and Aurora. 

“No, no, no, Liam, no!” Faye wailed as Liam kept on dragging her out of the kitchen and towards their bedroom. 

“I am going to teach you some manners, you miserable bitch. You will learn not to talk back to me,” Liam hissed in a low and threatening voice. 

“No, please Liam! I’m sorry! I won’t speak up out of turn anymore! Please let me go!” Faye pleaded, her voice becoming even more desperate and panicked. “Don’t do this, please!” 

Liam and Faye then disappeared into the bedroom as Liam closed the door and locked it shut. Lena, Aurora, Cayden and Ian then gathered together at the kitchen table as they got into a huddle and heard the low thud of Faye’s body hitting the bed. 

“No Liam, please stop…” Faye begged as Lena and her siblings heard the familiar metallic cling of Liam’s belt buckle hitting the floor. 

Then moments later the kids recoiled in horror as Faye started screaming and wailing loudly with the sounds of loud and sharp cracks from the belt filling the cold, dead air. Faye then continued to shriek and cry hysterically as Liam kept on yelling and cursing at her. 

“You’re gonna get it, you miserable bitch! You hear me?! You’re gonna get it!” 

“No, stop! Liam please, stop!” Faye sobbed as Lena grabbed Aurora’s hand and she led her other siblings out of the house and towards the safety of their barn nearby. 

The house was then eerily silent all except for the continuous loud whacks from Liam’s belt and Faye’s incessant cries. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Several more hours passed before Liam’s anger and fury was spent and he fell into a deep and peaceful slumber. Faye then seized this chance to get away from her husband and she slowly yet painstakingly got out of bed and trudged over to the desk, covered in several bruises and welts. 

She then went over to her chair and sat down as she whipped out a blank piece of paper and a pencil and started writing. 

My dearest Sylvester… I know that it’s been so long since I last wrote to you. Liam’s temper is getting worse and his beatings are escalating even more by the day. I wish that I could just get away from here and take the kids with me. 

I haven’t told Lena about you yet. I haven’t figured out exactly how I’m going to tell her about who you really are. She needs to know the truth about who her real father is and I rather that she heard it from me than from someone else. I just hope that she doesn’t get too angry with me… Lord knows that it isn’t really her fault that we’re both in this horrible mess. 

I hope that I can write to you again soon. Maybe in your next letter you can tell me more about your lovely and wonderful children. 

Ever faithfully yours, 

Faye 

Faye sighed as she signed her letter and went over to her bed before she got down on her hands and knees. She peered down and reached underneath the bed before she pulled out a large, brown, wooden box. Faye then opened the box and placed her latest letter inside it before she closed it shut. 

She then stole a brief glance at her husband and checked to make sure that he was still sleeping off his drunken stupor before she quickly shoved the box back underneath the bed. 

Faye climbed back onto the bed and lay down beside her husband and closed her eyes, hoping that her dreams would take her far away from her horrific and unrelenting waking nightmare. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Another week had gone by and Lena, Aurora, Cayden and Ian were walking off to school with the rest of the village kids. 

“Did you hear that the Americans released an actual bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki?” one of the boys asked. 

“Of course! We know all about it,” one of the girls rolled her eyes. 

“I heard that the bomb was so powerful that it wiped out an entire city,” another boy said. 

“No way!” one of the other boys scoffed incredulously. 

“Yes way!” the boy insisted stubbornly. 

“What do you think Lena?” Aurora questioned her older half-sister. 

Lena then pondered for a moment and frowned deeply. 

“You don’t that the Americans would be angry enough to drop a bomb on us too, do you?” 

“I doubt it,” Aurora answered pithily. “It’s not like we’ve ever given them a reason for them to be afraid of us.” 

“Maybe not the Americans but those filthy British sure will,” one of the boys rejoined. 

“Can you imagine if they somehow managed to get a hold of a bomb like that? We would all be dead!” his friend gaped in astonishment. 

“Perish the thought!” the other boy shuddered apprehensively. 

“Can we please change the subject? I don’t want to think about it anymore,” Aurora whimpered as the kids were approaching the school. 

“Whatever, crybaby,” Cayden smirked as he and his friends snickered at each other. 

Ian just gazed at him with a bemused expression. 

It wasn’t long before the kids arrived at school and went about their normal day as usual. Before they knew it, it was time for recess and all of the kids rushed outside to play games and do all kinds of fun activities. 

Ian was sitting on the pavement as he was drawing on the ground with a light blue chalk. Lena and Aurora were also drawing some animals with green and pink chalks. 

“I like your fox, Lena. It looks so pretty,” Aurora beamed proudly as she examined her handiwork. 

“I like your horse drawing too, ‘Ro,” Lena replied. 

“Nah, I think lizards are cooler,” Ian boasted as he kept on scribbling along. 

But just then a group of four boys marched up to them and one of them sneered at Ian. 

“Hello, sissy,” the boy greeted him. “I see that you are doing your dumb drawings again.” 

“Just leave me alone, Nelson,” Ian grumbled, not even looking at him. “I don’t want any trouble today.” 

But then Ian was taken aback when Nelson snatched the chalk away from him, threw it on the ground and then smashed it with his foot. Ian then whimpered and shook with sorrow and indignation. 

“Hey! That’s mine!” 

“Why don’t you fight me then, you coward?” Nelson challenged him as he gave him a hard shove. 

He also stomped on the other chalks, smashing and crushing them into little bits and pieces. Lena and Aurora stood by and watched in utter disbelief as Nelson destroyed the rest of their chalk collection. Ian then felt his eyes well up with tears as Nelson flashed a satisfied and arrogant smirk at him. 

“Hey, leave my brother alone!” Cayden hollered as he stormed over to confront Nelson. 

“Yeah? And whatcha gonna do? Fight me?” Nelson sneered. 

“I’m warning you. If you don’t back off, you’ll be sorry,” Cayden admonished him. 

“Why don’t you come and fight me then, you sissy?” Nelson taunted him as he kept on shoving and pushing him repeatedly. “Huh? Huh? Come on, fight me!” 

“No!” Cayden exclaimed. 

“I said fight me!” 

“No!” 

“I said fight me!” 

“No! I don’t want to!” 

“I said… fight me!” Nelson grunted as he gave Cayden another hard shove and this time he fell backwards and landed on his behind. 

After Cayden took a moment to recover from the fall, his body tensed up with rage and fury as he lunged at Nelson and punched him right in the face. 

However, Nelson barely flinched and he delivered a swift punch of his own, hitting Cayden square in the jaw. The two boys then started exchanging a series of blows and wrestled each other onto the ground as all of the kids congregated around them and cheered them on. 

“Fight, fight, fight!” 

But just as the altercation was heating up, a group of priests rushed out onto the playground and pulled the boys away from each other. 

“That is enough!” one of them yelled at them in a stern, disapproving tone. “You two are going to the office right this instant!” 

Cayden and Nelson were then hauled away by the priests into the school building. 

A couple of hours later, Lena and her siblings arrived back home as Faye was cleaning Cayden’s wounds on the kitchen counter. 

“What were you thinking, Cayden?” she rebuked him sharply. “You could have gotten seriously hurt!” 

“He just wouldn’t leave Ian alone. He destroyed all of our chalks. We were just minding our own business,” Cayden insisted. 

“I know, but violence is not the answer,” Faye informed him. 

“Maybe you should stop buying him those stupid chalks. That way those kids wouldn’t be picking on him so much,” Liam retorted. 

“What is he going to do then?” Faye frowned. 

“Anything but those stupid drawings!” Liam exclaimed, throwing up his hands in exasperation and agitation. “I don’t care what he does as long as he isn’t embarrassing himself in public!” 

He then shook his head and shot a disappointed and withering glare at both Cayden and Ian before he stormed off. 

“I need a drink.” 

“It’s not your fault, baby,” Faye reassured him as Ian stared glumly down at the floor while sitting at the kitchen table. “You just need to stand up for yourself more.” 

“Dad’s right,” Ian groaned as he got up from his chair and pushed it aside. “I need to stop wasting so much time making those stupid drawings.” 

He then stormed off as he disappeared into the room that he shared with his two other siblings. 

Faye sighed and shook her head as she continued to clean and heal Cayden’s injuries. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Later on that evening, Lena was sleeping soundly inside the barn on a large pile of hay with only an old, fuzzy, and dirty gray blanket to cover her. A clap of thunder roared across the sky as she was suddenly jolted out of her sleep and sat wide awake, breathing frantically. 

Lena turned around to see heavy rain fall right in front of the barn window as more thunder and lightning crashed across the dark and stormy night sky. She then threw the blanket over her head and slipped out of the barn as she headed towards the house in the pouring rain. 

Once Lena reached her destination, she dashed over towards the wall and flattened herself against it as she secretly peeked through the window from the corner of her eye. She was surprised to see a group of men sitting at the kitchen table playing cards, smoking cigars and drinking several bottles of whiskey. 

Lena barely managed to stifle a gasp as she recognized her stepfather Liam and her uncles Rory and Frankie sitting among the men. At one point she heard one man laugh and howl raucously as he slammed a fistful of cards onto the table. 

“Goddamn it I win again!” he hollered as the other men snickered and Rory gave him the death glare and watched him scoop away a huge pile of blue chips. 

“You’re not screwing me over this time, Lenny!” Rory exclaimed angrily. 

“Can it, ya hothead!” another one of the men snapped at Rory. 

“Piss off!” Rory snarled with his eyes flashing in indignation. 

“Hey, hey, hey!” Frankie bellowed, waving his hands at everyone to get them to quiet down. “Why don’t we all just shut the hell up and play? I don’t want any funny business from any of you fellas.” 

“He’s right,” one of the men sighed and he put down his card. 

The group then fell into a tense and awkward silence for several minutes as each man took turns passing down their cards and glancing at each other. 

Finally it was Liam who decided to speak up. 

“I hate this damn farm. It’s a lot more trouble than it’s actually worth. I don’t want to spend the rest of my godforsaken life taking care of all of these stupid animals and dealing with a nagging and ungrateful wife.” 

“So what are you gonna do about it then?” Lenny asked. 

Liam smirked as he passed down another card. “I’m getting the hell out of here and moving to America. They say that it is the land of the free and you can be whoever you want to be. It might be my best chance to make a name for myself.” 

“Once I get to America, I’m going to be the richest and most powerful man alive. I’ll have all of the money, power and women in the world. I might even be able to get rid of my good for nothing whore wife. I can’t even obtain a divorce here even if I wanted to. Our marriage is legal and binding according to the Church. I curse myself every day for allowing my father to talk me into marrying her.” 

“What about Lena though?” What are you going to do about her?” Frankie asked worriedly. 

Liam pursed his lips and stared at his cards wordlessly for several minutes. 

“I can always marry her off to another man when she comes of age. That way I can be rid of her.” 

“But what about before then?” Rory inquired curiously. 

Liam grunted as he passed down another card and picked out another one from the main deck. 

“I’ll send her to live with one of her aunts in the meantime so that I won’t have to deal with her every day. But I’m still going to have to figure out how to deal with my troublesome wife.” 

“How are you going to do that, Liam?” Rory asked. 

Frankie stayed deathly silent as his heart throttled violently in his ears and his mouth fell dry. He did not like where this conversation was going. 

Liam then chuckled evilly as a dark smirk crossed his lips. 

“One way or another, I’m going to be rid of her. Once Faye is out of my life, I can be with whomever I want. I won’t have to be tied down to her any longer.” 

He then took another pause and shuffled his cards as he passed down another card and looked up with a serious and grim look on his face. 

“I trust that this conversation will stay between us men. Not a word to your wives or girlfriends, am I clear? I don’t need to remind you what happens to those that dare to cross me.” 

The men then shrunk and recoiled in fear as they suddenly looked down at their cards and just kept on playing as if nothing was wrong. Frankie swallowed hard and focused on his deck as a flurry of thoughts swirled through his mind. He knew that he wanted to tell his sister, but he was afraid of what would happen if he dared to defy Liam. 

I definitely don’t want to end up like that last guy who went against Liam and then ended up in a ditch somewhere. 

Lena then backed away from the window and bolted right for the barn as her mind was reeling from everything that she had overheard. She was terrified of what Liam might have potentially planned for her and her mother, and she wasn’t sure if she even wanted to know. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

The next morning, Faye went over to her parents’ house with Lena and Ian so that they could see their loved ones. The house was only about a few miles away from the O’Malley farmhouse but was close enough so that Faye could visit her parents anytime that she wanted to. 

It was also built by Patrick O’Malley himself so that his other sons and their wives could live there and have enough room to grow and expand their families. 

After Faye and her sisters got married, their parents ended up selling off their farm and all of its related assets and the O’Malleys ended up gaining complete control of them. Patrick and Debra O’Malley also gave up control of their original family home and the adjacent barn to Liam and Faye. 

Not long afterward, Patrick then built a two story house that had five bedrooms, three bathrooms, a nursery room for the children, a kitchen, a living room with a fireplace, an attic and even an art studio for Carrie. 

The second floor mostly consisted of the bedrooms, bathrooms, the attic and the nursery room, with one of the bedrooms reserved for guests that were staying overnight. The first floor had both the kitchen and the living room adjacent to each other and the studio was located in a room that was on the far off left side of the house. 

Faye then knocked on the door and waited a few minutes for someone to answer. Then the door opened up and Carrie appeared. 

“Faye! I didn’t know that you were coming!” Carrie exclaimed in surprise as she gawked at her younger sister. 

“I wanted to see you guys,” Faye smiled as the two women hugged. 

“Can you please watch Ian? I need to have an important talk with Lena and we’re going to go walk together in the woods.” 

“Of course!” Carrie beamed. “You know that I’ll always be here when you need me.” 

“All right then. We’ll be back in a few hours,” Faye nodded and she gently nudged Ian into the house. 

“Now mind your aunt Carrie, you hear?” 

“Yes, Mama,” Ian groaned. 

“Have fun, Ian!” Lena grinned as she and Faye left the house. 

About an hour and a half later, Carrie was sitting in the living room and listening to the latest news broadcast on the radio while Ian was sitting in front of the table doodling. She then glanced over to see what he was doing. 

“Hey, buddy, what are you drawing?” 

“I’m drawing a fire breathing dragon,” Ian replied as he kept on scribbling along. 

“So you like dragons, huh?” Carrie inquired. 

“Yeah, I think they’re pretty cool,” Ian replied nonchalantly. 

Carrie then frowned as she got up and sat down next to Ian, studying him carefully. 

“Honey, what’s wrong? You can tell me.” 

Ian then frowned deeply as he suddenly stopped drawing and he put his crayon down on the table, crossing his arms. 

“My daddy doesn’t want me to draw anymore. He says that it’s stupid and I’m only embarrassing myself by continuing to do it.” 

“Well that’s ridiculous,” Carrie growled. “I think you’re a great artist and you should continue to draw pictures, no matter what anybody else thinks.” 

“You really think so, Aunt Carrie?” Ian quipped. 

“Of course, my love,” Carrie smiled as she pulled him into a loving embrace. “I’m an artist too just like you are, and I happen to be great at it. You should see some of my artwork.” 

“Oh, can I?” Ian perked up as he suddenly straightened up with his eyes and mouth widened in excitement. 

“Of course, darling,” Carrie replied as she got up to her feet. “Come… let me take you to my studio.” 

Ian then also got up and followed his aunt out of the living room. 

A few minutes later, Ian and Carrie entered the studio and Ian was amazed and thrilled at the many different portraits hanging around the walls of the room. Some of the portraits featured several different animals native to Ireland such as a red fox, a Connemara pony, a pygmy shrew, a mountain hare and an Irish setter while other portraits featured many of her own family members, including a family portrait of Leslie, Sean and their children Lynette and Sean Junior. 

Ian then walked over to the family portrait of Leslie and her family and gazed at it with wonder and curiosity. He took note of the many colors and shapes that Carrie used to form the faces and countenances of the people that he knew and recognized. 

He then focused his attention on Leslie and Sean’s children in particular. Lynette had strawberry blonde hair with green eyes while Sean Junior had dirty blonde hair with dark bluish green eyes. Lynette was also shorter and skinnier than Sean Junior but Sean Junior was also bigger, taller and more muscular than his sister. 

“Wow, so you have done pictures of us?” Ian murmured in astonishment. 

“Yeah,” Carrie smiled as she walked over to Ian and looked up at the portrait. “I’ve done portraits of many people in our family. I even did a portrait of you and your siblings when you guys were very little.” 

She then gestured for him to follow her and she led him to yet another portrait hanging on the opposite wall, and Ian gazed up to see a family portrait of him and his family. 

The portrait consisted of Faye and Liam standing side by side, with Lena standing right next to her mother. Faye was holding Aurora while Liam was holding both Cayden and Ian in his arms. 

Faye had a quiet, meek and demure expression on her face while Liam looked very sullen and disgruntled, almost like he couldn’t stand to be in the same room as his family. The way that he just stared with an imposing and domineering look in his eyes practically freaked Ian out. Ian recognized it right away – it was the same look that Liam would have when he found something that he didn’t approve of or even agree with. 

“You like that portrait?” Carrie grinned as she too studied the portrait. “I think it might be my best work yet.” 

“Yeah, I think so too,” Ian mumbled, grimacing uncomfortably at the portrait. 

“You know what, Ian? I think that you have a God-given talent, and it would be a terrible shame to waste it,” Carrie added, breaking him out of his thoughts. “You shouldn’t mind what your father or what anybody else says. You should go and fulfill your heart’s desire no matter what. Draw and paint if you want to. When you’re older I can teach you some of the more advanced techniques.” 

“Thanks, Aunt Carrie. That means a lot,” Ian smiled, starting to feel a lot better. 

“No problem, honey,” Carrie beamed back as she gave him a loving squeeze. “Now let’s go into the kitchen and I’ll fix you up something scrumptious to eat.” 

“Okay, Aunt Carrie,” said Ian as he followed Carrie out of the studio. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Meanwhile, Faye and Lena were sitting together in front of a stream in an open area as they watched a group of deer take a drink of water. Lena then got restless and bored after a while and picked up a medium-sized gray stone in her hand. 

She pulled her arm backward and aimed it right at the stream before tossing it into the air. The stone then dropped into the water and disappeared into the murky depths below. Lena then picked up another stone and threw it into the water as it also plopped down into the shallow depths below. Faye sighed sadly and looked over at her daughter. 

“Lena, I brought you out here so that I can tell you something very important.” 

“What is it, Mama?” Lena asked innocently as she continued tossing rocks into the stream and didn’t even glance back at her mother. 

“Lena!” Faye snapped loudly in an exasperated voice and Lena suddenly stopped with her arm hanging in the air with the stone still clutched in her hand. She then put down her arm and gazed back at her with a perturbed and apprehensive expression. 

“What is it, Mama? Why did you bring me here?” 

“Lena, you need to listen to me carefully,” said Faye. “It’s time that you knew the real truth about your father.” 

“What are you talking about, Mama? I don’t understand,” Lena quipped. 

Faye then took a deep breath and paused for a moment. “Actually, Lena… the man that you know as your father isn’t really your father. Someone else is.” 

Lena said nothing for a few minutes as she stared blankly at her mother and tried to process what she had just said. 

“What do you mean, Mama? What do you mean that he really isn’t my father?” 

Lena then looked away from her mother as she tried to fight back tears that were now brimming in her eyes. Faye put her arm around Lena and pulled her into an embrace, holding her tenderly. 

“Lena, darling, I love you so much and I never ever want to hurt you. I know that you must be really sad to hear this news, but I feel like you’re now old enough to learn the truth.” 

“Who is my daddy then, Mama?” Lena asked, blinking away any unshed tears. 

Faye smiled and gazed right at her daughter. 

“He is the King of Alamania, a distant land far, far, far away from here. When we first met, he was the Crown Prince. But in the years since, his father has died of old age and he ascended the throne as his heir apparent. He is married now with a family of his own.” 

“Does he know about me Mama? Does he even want me?” Lena inquired; a part of her hoping that at least one of her father figures might show a real interest in her. 

“Of course, darling. He cares about you very much and he’s very eager to meet you in person. Someday I’ll leave your father once and for all and then we will go away to Alamania together.” 

“And when will that happen, Mama?” Lena queried. 

“Soon, very soon, darling. I’ll let you know when we can leave but we still need to finalize the details of our escape plan. Papa cannot know about any of this, all right?” 

“Yes, Mama,” Lena nodded reluctantly, glancing back at the stream hesitantly. “But what about Aurora and the twins? We can’t just leave them.” 

“Don’t worry, they won’t be alone. Your Aunt Leslie and Uncle Sean will be there to take care of them. But this trip won’t be safe for all of us. I can only take you with me, understand?” Faye reassured her daughter. 

“Yes, Mama,” Lena nodded with a frown. 

Faye then caressed her daughter’s hair tenderly as she gazed right into her eyes. 

“I know that you don’t really want to leave your sister and your brothers behind, love. I don’t want to either, but you know as well as I do that your father would never let them go, and if he knew that we were leaving Ireland, I can’t bear to think of what he might do to us.” 

“You don’t think that he might really hurt us if he found us, do you Mama?” Lena whimpered fearfully. 

Faye didn’t respond immediately as her mind suddenly flashed to Liam savagely beating her in their bedroom with the belt and she also got another flashback of another one of his beatings after she confronted him on the night of Lena’s christening. 

“I would hope so, darling,” was all she said. 

Faye then paused for a moment and glanced over at Lena with a bright, toothy smile. 

“All right then, darling, why don’t we both just head on home now? I bet you’re getting pretty hungry.” 

“All right, Mama,” Lena giggled as the two women got up to their feet. 

Lena then threw the rock into the stream before she turned around and followed her mother out of the area. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

A month had passed and Lena was still coming to terms with the fact that the man that she knew as her father wasn’t really her biological father. Even though she had promised her mother that she would never tell a single soul, not even Liam, she couldn’t resist the urge to tell at least one person in confidence. And she knew who exactly to trust with her biggest secret. 

“So Papa isn’t your real dad after all?” Aurora gawked in surprise and disbelief as she and Lena were playing hopscotch together. 

“Nope… turns out that I’m a real life princess,” Lena explained as she hopped on the chalk drawn squares quickly and waited for Aurora to take her turn. 

“A real life princess?” Aurora gaped as she also hopped along the squares on the ground. “You mean like Princess Elizabeth II of England?” 

“Yeah… something like that,” Lena mused. 

“What’s your real dad like?” Aurora asked curiously. 

Lena smiled as she hopped on two separate squares and then hopped on the rest on one foot. 

“Mama told me that he’s the King of some far away land called Alamania. He’s been in charge of the entire country ever since his dad died. He also has two other kids with some other woman.” 

“Do you know what their names are?” Aurora queried. 

“Yeah, my half-sister’s name is Vivian and my half-brother’s name is Leopold. Sounds like a real funny name if you ask me. He’s the one that’s supposed to rule over the whole land when my dad abdicates the throne someday.” 

“Do you think that you could ever be Queen of Alamania someday?” Aurora mused, doing a twirl on the ground as she skipped along. 

“No,” Lena sighed sadly. “Mama says that women are not allowed to ascend the throne and even if they were, I would never be Queen because I’m a bastard.” 

“The highest position that a woman could ever hope to achieve is to be a Princess Regent or a Princess Consort if they marry into the royal family, and Vivian is going to be a Princess Regent when she gets older.” 

“What would you do if you were Queen though, Lena?” Aurora persisted. 

Lena then paused and took a moment to think up of an answer. 

“When I’m Queen, I’m going to pass some laws so that not only would women be able to ascend the throne if they wanted to, but also that even bastards like me could be accepted into the royal family.” 

“That sounds awesome,” Aurora grinned. 

Just then, a boy bolted out of the school building, screaming and hollering at the top of his lungs. 

“It’s over! The war is over! The Japanese has surrendered to the Americans! It’s over! We won!” 

As soon as those words have left his lips, all of the kids dropped everything that they were doing and raced off into the school building. 

Several minutes later, they flooded into the classroom and congregated around the radio as it reported the latest news. 

“This just in… the Japanese have surrendered! I repeat… the Japanese have officially surrendered! General Douglas MacArthur has just accepted Japan’s formal request to surrender on the U.S.S. Missouri earlier today, thus ending a long and bloody global conflict.” 

“I don’t believe it… it’s finally over,” Cayden muttered underneath his breath. 

“What’s going on here? Why aren’t you kids outside?” a male voice demanded as three priests barged into the classroom. 

“The Japanese have finally surrendered, Father,” Nelson addressed the elderly priest eagerly. “We won’t have to deal with them or those nasty Germans anymore. Everyone can all go home now.” 

“I don’t care, just beat it! Go back to recess!” the priest snapped as he shooed all of the kids out of the classroom and they all disappeared out the door. 

The kids then just kept on screaming and hollering excitedly and joyfully as they dashed through the hallways. 

Later on that day, when school finally let out, Lena, Aurora, Cayden and Ian raced through the fields as they sped rapidly towards their house. Faye then stepped out of the front door with a bewildered and perplexed expression as she saw her four children advance quickly towards her. 

Then once the kids finally reached their house, they stopped and bent over to catch their breath. 

“Now what on Earth is going on with you kids?” Faye retorted sternly, putting on an akimbo. 

“The Japanese surrendered to the Americans, Mama. It’s over. The war is finally over!” Aurora crowed. 

“All of our soldiers can finally come home now that the enemy has been vanquished!” Ian added. 

“What the hell are you kids screaming and hollering about?!” Liam snarled as he stormed out into the doorway with a bottle of beer in hand, wearing a pair of khaki pants and a white wife beater, and looking very haggard and disheveled. 

“Well, dear, the kids have been telling us that the war is officially over and the Japanese have surrendered,” Faye explained calmly. 

Liam grunted and sneered at Faye, causing her to recoil and pull back in fear. 

“I don’t give a damn about no goddamn Germans or Japanese. Get inside this house right now or all of you will forfeit your supper!” he roared and everyone darted into the house as quickly as they possibly could. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

DECEMBER 23ND, 1945 

SWITZER’S DEPARTMENT STORE, 3RD FLOOR 

DUBLIN, IRELAND 

The fall season soon gave way to winter as the trees became barren and lifeless, numerous bodies of water froze over into solid ice and huge blankets of white snow covered the ground. 

Faye and the kids have been looking forward to the Christmas season all year long – it was one of the very few occasions where Liam actually left them alone for a little while and they were able to spend some time with their family. Today they were going to Switzer’s in Dublin to see Santa and to receive any presents that they might get. 

The minute that Faye, Carrie, Leslie, Frances, Frankie’s wife Debbie and the kids arrived on the store’s 3rd floor, they were blown away by the various assortments of Christmas decorations. There was a big artificial Christmas tree standing in the very back and there were several shelves filled with hundreds and hundreds of toys, games and clothes. 

As the women and children walked through one of the aisles and advanced closer to the Christmas tree, they saw a big, fat man dressed like Santa Claus sitting on a big, red, velvety chair. The man then smiled as he saw the group approaching him. 

“Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!” the man greeted them in a deep, cheery voice with a wave. 

“Santa!” a small brown-haired boy with hazel green eyes yelled as he dashed right for Santa with a very eager and excited grin on his face. 

Carrie then rushed over to grab him. 

“Come back here, Aidan!” she exclaimed as she snatched him up and held him in her arms. 

“But Mommy, I wanna see Santa!” Aidan pouted as he started throwing a tantrum. 

“You’ll get to see Santa when it is your turn. Now stop your crying and be a good little boy, okay?” Carrie scolded him sternly as Aidan stopped throwing a fit and calmed down. 

“Okay, Mommy.” 

“Well, well, well, looks like someone is excited to see Santa Claus this year,” Santa chuckled. 

“Yes he is,” Carrie smiled as she put Aidan down and took his hand. 

Santa then took out a bunch of presents and divided them into two piles, with one pile consisting of blue presents for boys and the other pile consisting of pink presents for girls. 

“All right, ladies and gentleman. Now I want you all to file up into two lines and each of you will come and get your present after your name is called.” 

He then motioned over to the pile of blue presents and picked up one present and read the label out loud. 

“First up, Sean Junior.” 

“All right!” Sean Junior cheered as he rushed over to receive his present and grabbed it. “Thank you, Santa!” 

Santa then picked up another present and read the label. 

“Next off, Flynn.” 

Frances then walked over to pick up the present with a dark-haired toddler in her arms and received it. She then walked away with both the present and her son in hand. 

Santa then picked up yet another present and read the name labelled on it. 

“Next up, Cayden.” 

“Oh boy!” Cayden cheered as he went to grab his present and raced off with it. 

“Oh and I see that this one also belongs to Ian,” Santa added as he picked up another present in his hand. 

“Thanks, Santa!” Ian hollered as he also quickly grabbed his present and ran off with it. 

“And last but not least, Aidan.” 

“Yay! I’m a good boy, Santa!” Aidan exclaimed as he went to grab his present and walked away while hugging it tightly. 

Several minutes later, Santa had also given away most of the pink presents to the girls. He then handed off two more presents to a black haired little girl named D.J. and an auburn-haired girl named Fern. 

Their mother Debbie, who also had dark auburn hair with light green eyes, went over to pick up the presents and her daughters as she then walked away. Now there was only one present left. 

Santa then picked it up and looked at the label. 

“All right then, this last one belongs to Lena. Congratulations, kiddo.” 

“Really?” Lena’s eyes widened in surprise and joy as she went over to pick up her present. She then received it and walked back to her mother with a big grin on her face. 

“Merry Christmas, my love,” Faye beamed as she went over to hug her daughter. 

“I love you, Mama,” Lena murmured as she hugged her back. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

DECEMBER 24TH, 1945 

PETRIE FAMILY RESIDENCE 

NEAR DUBLIN, IRELAND 

It was later in the evening and everyone had huddled around together in the living room by the fireplace as the fire gave off a soft, gentle, yellow glow. Next to the fireplace was a small holly brush tree decorated with Christmas ornaments and it was surrounded by several blue and pink presents. 

Miranda was lighting up a single candle by the window as she blew off the match and gazed at it with fond reverence. Lena then broke away from the group and walked over to her grandmother as she stood right next to her. 

“What were you doing, Grandma?” 

“I was just lighting up the candle so that Mary and Joseph would be able to find their way to our house and spend Christmas Eve with us,” Miranda explained. 

“Oh,” Lena replied as she studied the candle with interest. “Is Santa going to come here too?” 

“Of course, sweetie, but later. He’s busy delivering all of the presents to all of the other good little boys and girls,” Miranda answered. 

“I can’t wait for Santa to get here!” Aidan exclaimed excitedly as he rushed over to Lena and Miranda. 

“Well, Aidan, he can’t come here unless all of you kids are sleeping in your beds,” Miranda informed him gently. 

“Well I hope Daddy comes back in time to see Santa, Grandma,” Aidan added. 

Miranda chuckled in amusement at Aidan’s words. 

“I think your father may be a bit too old for Santa Claus. And besides, we won’t be around to see him because we all have to go to Midnight Mass.” 

“I just hope that Rory and the others get back from the pub before then,” Carrie groaned. 

“They better, if they know what’s good for them,” Frances snapped sternly. 

“And they better not miss Christmas dinner either!” Leslie yelled shrilly, holding Lynette. 

Sean Junior was busy running around the room while playing tag with Cayden and Ian. Aurora, Sienna, D.J. and Fern were also trying to teach Flynn how to walk. Sienna was Flynn’s older sister and had dirty blonde hair with hazel green eyes. 

“Come on, Flynnie. You can do it,” Sienna encouraged him as she was holding him up by his underarms as she was helping him walk by himself. 

However, Flynn was barely able to stand on his own two feet and just collapsed on his hands and knees, looking at her blankly. 

Miranda then glanced over at the grandfather clock on the opposite side of the wall to check the time. 

“I think it’s time for the kids to open up their presents now,” she said as she and the other women rushed over to the Christmas tree to gather up the presents. 

For the next several minutes the Petrie/O’Malley women helped their kids unwrap their presents one by one and the kids cheered and jumped for joy once they saw what was inside them. 

“I got a toy truck!” Aidan cried. 

“I got a teddy bear!” Sienna giggled. 

“I got a T-Rex!” Cayden quipped. 

“I got some new crayons!” Ian exclaimed as he held up his new crayon box set. 

“I got a bunny rabbit!” Aurora grinned as she hugged her new plush toy. 

Lena then opened up her present and was surprised by what it revealed. In her hands were a fox plush toy and a leather dark brown book. She then opened up the book and flipped through the pages, only to realize that it was completely blank. 

“Mama, what’s this that you got me?” she asked. 

“That’s a journal, my love. You can use it to write anything that you want,” Faye answered. 

“Really?” Lena murmured in wonderment as she studied the book carefully. “Cool.” 

Then as soon as all of the presents were opened up and all of the kids received their presents, Miranda glanced over at the grandfather clock again. 

“I think that it’s time to put all of the kids to bed. It’s getting pretty late.” 

“Come along now, little ones,” Frances urged the kids as she and her sisters ushered the children out of the living room and up the stairs to their respective bedrooms. 

Faye then tucked Lena and her siblings into bed in the guest room as Lena rolled onto her left side and gazed up at her mother. 

“Night, Mama,” Lena yawned. 

“Good night, darling,” Faye smiled as she kissed her on the forehead and walked out of the room. 

Lena then closed her eyes and fell fast asleep. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

DECEMBER 25TH, 1945 

ST. THOMAS CATHOLIC CHURCH 

DUBLIN, IRELAND 

12:30 A.M. 

Once the children were safely tucked into bed, Faye and the other women got dressed in their best Sunday clothes and then left the house; they went over to McCready’s to pick up their husbands so that they could make it to Midnight Mass on time. 

Once they arrived at the church, they noticed that the entire building was fully packed and a lot of people were huddled very close together with candles in their hands. 

The parishioners were also singing along to the homily as the priest was standing in front of a rectangular table with a Christmas tree sitting right next to it. The Christmas tree also had a ceramic figurine of Mary and baby Jesus sitting in front of it. The entire interior of the church was also decked out in various Christmas décor and there was also a large and wide candle sitting on another table, with one flame still smoldering freely. 

Faye, Liam and the others then found some empty pews and sat as close to each other as they could, with Liam and Faye sitting together while Carrie, Rory, Leslie and Sean sitting behind them and Frances, Connor, Miranda and Frank sitting right in front of them. 

After a few more minutes, everyone stopped singing and the priest looked up from the Bible to address the congregation. 

“Good evening.” 

“Good evening,” the crowd repeated back in unison. 

“I am so overjoyed to see everyone here in Mass tonight,” the priest continued. “As we all know, Christmas is one of the most joyous times of the year. But it’s not all about the material things. The most important thing is Jesus and his very existence gives us hope for our salvation and eternal glory in Heaven.” 

Before long a young woman clad in a white robe read three separate passages from the Bible depicting Mary and Joseph’s journey into Bethlehem, Jesus’s birth, and the Three Wise Men paying homage to Jesus at the manger. 

Then after the readings were concluded, the priest segued into a sermon highlighting the glory of Jesus’s birth. But as the Mass continued on, Faye’s attention began to wander and she became lost in her thoughts. Then before she even knew it, she saw a vision flash right before her eyes. 

Faye saw herself lying on the ground in a pool of blood in her very own home, and then she saw a glimpse of Sylvester driving away in a horse carriage with Lena and her mother looking on with sorrow. She then saw a slightly older version of Lena at a lavish, opulent castle cleaning and scrubbing the floors on her hands and knees in old and filthy rags. 

But then the vision changed again and she saw a more grown up version of Lena wearing a white wedding dress at a church and kissing a much older man with dark chestnut brown hair, dark hazel brown eyes and wearing a black tuxedo. 

Faye then saw Lena and her new husband sitting at the beach together while their five children – four girls and a boy – were running around and playing a game of tag. But for some reason her mind’s eye focused closely on the youngest child in the family – a girl with dark ginger red hair and dark hazel brown eyes. 

Then the vision jumped to several years later where the same little girl – now all grown up – is in the hospital bed holding two baby girls in her arms. One had dark ginger red hair with dark hazel brown eyes while the other one had jet black hair with azure eyes. The baby on the left appeared to be much smaller and weaker than the other one. 

Then Faye saw one more vision appear in her mind’s eye: the little girl with dark ginger red hair and dark hazel brown eyes is now much older and this time has long, wavy and shoulder-length hair with thick-rimmed glasses. She then sees another young girl with jet black hair and azure eyes charging right at her while shrouded in an icy aura and with both of her hands covered in shards of ice. 

The girl then transforms into a red scaled dragon with dark yellow horns, wings and spikes as she launches herself into the air and unleashes a huge burst of flames from her mouth just as the other girl hurtles a large blast of icy wind at her. The girl then screams out loud as she finds herself encased in a block of ice… 

Faye then snapped out of her thoughts and was jolted back into reality, still unnerved and rattled by what she had seen. She wondered if it was just a bizarre daydream or maybe it was a premonition from God, warning her of the potential future to come. Faye then decided to shake off her fears as she joined in the singing with the rest of the congregation and tried to act like there was nothing wrong. 

Then when the mass finally concluded for the night, Faye and her sisters headed home while Liam and the other men went back to the pub to get hammered and wasted some more. 

Then as soon as the women arrived at their house, Faye immediately rushed into the room where Lena and her siblings were still sleeping and went over to Lena’s bed. She then knelt down at her bedside and caressed her hair gently for several minutes while gazing down at her lovingly. 

“I want you to know that even though I may not always be here with you, I will always love you no matter what, my sweet precious girl.” 

Tears then welled up in Faye’s eyes as the gravity of the vision started to sink in and she began to realize that her days may well be truly numbered. 

The thought of her dying so suddenly at such a young age and leaving her children behind on this Earth, most of all Lena, terrified her to her core. She tried to muster up all of the courage that she had within her as the tears now rolled down her cheeks and she continued to gaze at her daughter. 

Faye then took in a very shaky breath as she wiped her eyes dry and got up to her feet, preparing to take her leave. She then turned around and sauntered out of the room without another word. But just as she left, Lena stirred and opened her eyes as she managed to catch the very last glimpse of her mother’s shadow drifting away from her sight. 

“Mama…” 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

Christmas Day came and went and after a long night of drinking, all of the men were left with nasty and debilitating hangovers. However, despite of their sorry states, they were still able to make it to the annual Christmas dinner on time with the rest of the family. Not that they had any say in the matter anyway – otherwise their wives would never let them hear the end of it! 

Then a couple of days later the entire Petrie/O’Malley clan said their goodbyes to 1945 and greeted the arrival of another year. Everyone was filled with hope and joy now that the war was finally over and peace had once again graced the free world. They were all looking forward to brand new beginnings, all except for Faye that is. 

Ever since Faye received that fateful vision during the Midnight Mass on Christmas, she couldn’t seem to shake it out of her mind and the feeling of dread and terror was still settled in her very soul. She initially didn’t confide in anyone about what she had experienced and had spent the last several days praying and meditating on what it could all mean. Finally after much thought and reflection, Faye decided that she couldn’t keep it a secret any longer and she needed to tell someone. 

Then one day, while Lena and the rest of the kids were outside playing at the barn, Faye had called her sisters into a very important meeting. She, Carrie, Leslie and Frances were sitting together at the kitchen table playing gin and rummy while they were drinking whiskey and smoking cigarettes. 

“What’s going on, Faye? What’s so important that you called all of us here?” Carrie asked worriedly. 

“Yeah, you’ve been so quiet lately. It’s not like you, dear sister,” Frances rejoined as she put down a card. 

Faye then took a slow drag and exhaled sharply while staring at her cards. 

“Ladies, there’s something that I need to tell you but it cannot leave this room,” Faye informed the other women. 

Carrie, Leslie and Frances exchanged bewildered and shocked glances at each other, wondering what Faye could want to confide in them about. 

Faye then took a deep breath, took a shot out of her whiskey and exhaled sharply. 

“A couple of weeks ago, while we were all at church attending Midnight Mass, I had a very peculiar vision. I saw myself lying dead on the living room floor in a pool of blood at my own home. Then I saw Sylvester driving out of Ireland with Lena in a horse carriage.” 

Leslie, Carrie and Frances gasped in astonishment and disbelief as the color drained from their faces. Carrie then took another shot at her whiskey, not sure if she even wanted to believe that this was true. 

Faye then paused for a moment to collect her thoughts and continued. 

“Then after that, I saw many moments of Lena’s life flash right before my eyes. First she was in a grand, big, old castle dressed like a poor servant girl and scrubbing the floors all by herself.” 

“Then years later she was getting married at a church to an older gentleman who appeared to be more than half her age. Then before I knew it, she had five children with him – four girls and a boy. But then one of the girls grew up and had twin girls of her very own. And then I saw those same girls fighting each other with strange, mystical powers.” 

Carrie, Frances and Leslie then stared at each other and then at Faye for several minutes, not sure how to react to what she just said. Then Carrie doubled over and broke out into hysterical laughter, shrieking and cackling. Frances and Leslie also joined in as Faye gawked at them with a dismayed and appalled look on her face. 

“This isn’t funny! It’s a vision from God! He’s telling me what’s going to happen in my future! I know it!” she snapped indignantly. 

“That may be so, but really, Faye? Two young girls with strange, mystical powers? You must have been really hitting that whiskey too hard!” 

“Yeah! It’s so ridiculous that it’s comical!” Leslie snickered, wiping a tear from her eye as she guffawed and chortled. 

Then after Faye glared at them with a disapproving scowl on her face, the ladies suddenly stopped laughing and stared at her with shame and embarrassment in their eyes. 

“We’re so sorry, Faye. We didn’t mean to offend you, honest,” Leslie apologized. 

“You don’t have anything to worry about. We won’t let anyone hurt you, not even Liam,” Frances assured her. 

“And you can count on that!” Carrie added resolutely. 

“Thank you, my dear sisters,” Faye smiled, her anger receding slightly. “That really means a lot to me.” 

“We will always support you no matter what, Faye. You know that,” Leslie vowed as she, Carrie and Frances pulled Faye into a group hug. 

Faye then sniffled and sobbed as tears welled up in her eyes and she hugged them back. 

“Thank you, thank you.” 

The women then broke out of the group hug and Faye gazed at them with a solemn and grim expression. 

“Girls, if anything were to happen to me, anything at all, I want you to promise me that you’ll look after my children and keep them safe.” 

“We promise, Faye. You know that you can trust us,” Frances reassured her. 

“I know that this is a lot to ask, and Lord know that I can’t rely on Liam for anything these days,” Faye sighed despondently. 

“We know,” Carrie groaned. “I can’t count on my good for nothing husband either. We haven’t even made love ever since Aidan was born. I can’t even bear to look at him or let him touch me. He disgusts me. If it were up to me, I never would have married him in the first place.” 

She then glanced over at Frances and Leslie. “At least you two have decent men in your lives.” 

“Yes, Sean is just the best! He’s an excellent husband and provider!” Leslie gushed with a huge smile on her face. 

“So is mine, but I just wish that he would stop drinking so much,” Frances added. 

“I can’t wait to leave Liam and get away from here once and for all,” Faye griped as she and her sisters passed down some cards. “I want to make a life for myself and for my children. I want a chance to finally be free and happy.” 

“We sure will, one of these days. Maybe we can move to America and have a brand new start. That would be a great way to start out the new year for sure,” Leslie suggested. 

“I agree wholeheartedly,” Carrie grunted. 

The women then broke into light-hearted chatter as they continued to play cards, drink whiskey and trade gossip and stories amongst themselves, wondering just what the future might bring. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

JANUARY 19TH, 1945 

O’MALLEY FAMILY FARM 

3:20 P.M. 

It was mid-afternoon and Faye and the kids had gone over to the Petrie/O’Malley residence to spend some time with their loved ones. Liam had declined to join them and instead was sitting on the couch drinking several bottles of whiskey and watching the fire flicker and smolder in the fireplace. 

After spending a couple of hours drinking heavily, Liam was royally plastered and his anger was simmering and threatening to boil over. He couldn’t help but think of the many times over the last several months that he had secretly spied on Faye writing something on her desk. He then watched her crawl underneath their bed, remove a brown wooden box and open it up, revealing a huge pile of letters. 

Liam was stunned when he realized that Faye had been hiding a box of letters from him all along. What was she hiding them for? Was she having a secret affair? Was she planning to leave him and perhaps take the children with her? He had to know. 

Liam then put down his whiskey bottle and walked over to the bedroom. Once he got inside, he immediately rushed over to the bed and got down on his hands and knees. He then peeked underneath it and to his delight he found the wooden box. Liam grabbed it and pulled it out before he opened up the lid. 

Inside the box were several handwritten letters, all written by one person – Sylvester Alamain – and they were all wrapped neatly with a rubber band in the middle so that Faye wouldn’t lose them. The last letter that Faye had written to Sylvester was still sitting loosely on top of the pile. Liam then retrieved the letter and held it up to read it. 

My dearest Sly, 

I cannot stay in this place any longer. My marriage has become unbearable. My husband despises me and cannot stand the sight of me. Well, the feeling is mutual since I cannot stand the sight of him either. He’s not the man that I married. He’s not the man that I thought that he was going to be. My children deserve better. I deserve better. This can’t be what God has intended for me for the rest of my life. 

I’ve decided that one of these days I’m going to send the kids to my parent’s house so that Liam and I can sit down together and we can discuss our future together. I’m going to tell him that this marriage is over and I’m leaving him once and for all. 

He can have the twins if he wants to but Aurora is going to be living with my sister Leslie and her husband Sean. I’m taking Lena with me. It’s not like Liam would even care anyway. He never even wanted her in the first place and he has always resented me for keeping her and not giving her up to an orphanage. I’m leaving Ireland for good and Lena and I will be joining you in Alamania. I don’t care what it takes. We’re going to be together no matter what, till death do us part. 

Forever and always, 

Faye. 

Liam then let out a loud, blood-curling scream as he grabbed the box and hurtled it right at the bedframe, causing it to land on the bed and spill its contents. Liam then continued to scream and holler in a fit of psychotic rage as he was mentally reeling from the bombshell that he had just unearthed. 

After over a decade of marriage, Faye, the woman who had vowed to love him for the rest of her life until her death, was now going to leave him. And the worst part was that she was leaving him for the man that she had truly loved – Sylvester. And that cold, hard fact drove him insane. 

Liam then put the wooden box back where he found out and stormed over to the barn where he kept his guns. He took out a shotgun rifle from the gun rack and loaded it up with ammo before cocking it. Liam’s eyes then turned black and cold as a sinister expression crept up on his face. 

“She thinks that she’s going to walk away from me? Well I’ll show her! I’ll teach her a lesson that she will never forget!” 

6 HOURS LATER… 

Faye then arrived at the house and entered the living room as a low peal of thunder rumbled across the night sky. She was astounded to see Liam sitting on the rocking chair, holding the shotgun rifle in his hands and with the wooden box sitting on his lap. 

“Liam, what is the meaning of this?” Faye demanded angrily as she approached him. “And where the hell did you even find my box?” 

“So you do admit that this is indeed yours?” Liam smirked evilly as Faye gasped and her hands flew to her mouth. 

“What are you even talking about?” 

“I know all about you and your love letters, my dear wife. I know that you have spent the last three fucking years writing to this son of a bitch that you never really stopped having feelings for. The very same man that you were screwing around with before we were even married!” 

Faye’s breath then hitched in her throat and she froze in horror as her eyes fell on Liam’s rifle. She turned around and was about to take off and run when suddenly she heard a very faint click ring in the air. Faye then glanced over her shoulder to see Liam holding the rifle right at her head. 

“I don’t think so, honey,” he growled in a very dark and menacing voice as Faye’s eyes widened in horror and her blood went cold. “You are staying right where you are.” 

“Please don’t kill me… I’ll do anything,” Faye pleaded in a fearful voice. 

“It’s a little late for you to be negotiating, sweetheart,” Liam sneered as he continued to point the gun at her. 

“Please… Our children need me. You can’t kill me, please…” Faye continued to beg as she saw the barrel of the rifle aiming dead center at her forehead. 

“Why should I spare you? You are nothing but a worthless, good for nothing whore. The kids are better off without you anyway. I’ll find someone new to replace you. It would be like you never even existed,” Liam scoffed arrogantly. 

Faye then mouthed the word “No” as she saw Liam lowering the gun towards her chest and caressing the trigger lightly with his index finger. There was a very brief and tense silence as Faye and Liam locked eyes for the last time and Liam was practically gloating with glee at the sight of Faye quivering and groveling before him. 

Then a loud gunshot rang through the air as Liam fired right into Faye’s chest and the bullet went right through her heart. Faye gasped softly as she fell to the ground and collapsed onto her back. 

Liam then got up from his chair, causing the box to fall right off his lap, and walked over to where Faye was laying. Faye was now surrounded by a growing pool of blood and she felt herself growing weaker and colder with her heart rate gradually slowing to a stop. 

With her last dying breath, she glanced up at Liam as the light was slowly fading from her eyes. Liam then looked right at her with a disdainful and cruel sneer on his face, still holding the weapon. 

“I’ll pray for you…” was all she said before her head dropped onto its right side and her body lay still and motionless. 

A cold and eerie silence swept through the room as it dawned on Liam that his wife was dead and he was responsible. Now he had to figure out how to get rid of the evidence and come up with some sort of plausible story for why Faye was no longer alive. 

Liam then decided that the first thing that he needed to do was dispose of the gun and his bloody clothes. He went over to a small pond that was right behind the farmhouse and he tossed the rifle into the water. 

Then after he had a change of clothes, he gathered up a bunch of dry twigs and used a match to create a bonfire. Liam then tossed his bloody clothes into the fire and watched them burn and disintegrate into ashes with a sense of pride and accomplishment. 

Now all he had to do was wait for Miranda and the kids to return home so that they can see his handiwork and know what he had done. That very night, Liam went to bed and slept very soundly and peacefully as his wife lay dead on the floor in the adjacent room. 

The very next morning, Liam left the house very early and drove to a local hotel in Dublin so that no one would know his whereabouts. A few hours later, Miranda and the kids showed up at the house as Miranda poked her head through the open door and saw no one in the living room. 

“Hello? Faye? Liam? Are you there? Hello?” she called out as she slowly entered the house with the kids trailing behind her and looked around. 

“Hello? Faye? Faye? It’s your mother!” 

“Mama, where are you?” Lena hollered as she also scanned the room for any sign of her mother. 

Miranda then stopped and surveyed her surroundings carefully, suddenly getting very suspicious. She turned around to face the kids. 

“Now I want all of you to stay right here. I’m going to go see if your mother is anywhere else inside the house.” 

“Yes, Grandma,” Ian chirped. 

Miranda then walked over to the kitchen to see if her daughter was there. But as soon as she stepped inside the area, she stumbled upon a very grisly and horrific scene. 

Faye was lying on her right side with her arms outstretched and her eyes and mouth were completely open. There was also a huge bullet wound in her heart and her clothes were soaked with blood. 

Miranda then let out a shrill and anguished cry as she collapsed onto her knees and started sobbing hysterically. 

“My baby! My precious child! My sweet Faye! Why, God, why?!” 

Over an hour and a half later, the local authorities from the nearby city of Dublin have descended onto the property as they began investigating Faye’s murder. One of the officers then approached Miranda as she was holding her crying and scared grandchildren. 

“Ma’am, where were you on the night that your daughter was murdered?” 

“I was at home with my husband, my children and my grandchildren,” Miranda answered. 

“When was the last time that you saw Ms. O’Malley?” the officer asked. 

“It was right around 9 p.m. She told me that she was going to go home and discuss some important matters with her husband and I was to bring the kids home in the morning. She agreed to allow them to stay at my place overnight.” 

“And do you know anything about your son-in-law’s whereabouts on the night in question?” 

“Yes, I do, officer,” Miranda replied with an annoyed and exasperated face. “He was supposed to visit with us at our place but he decided not to go. I wonder what the hell would be so important that he had to stay behind.” 

“That will be all, ma’am,” the officer retorted as he briefly scanned over his notes. “I’m sorry for your loss.” 

He then walked away and sauntered over to his fellow officers as they began discussing the evidence that they have uncovered so far. But just then they heard a loud male voice hollering from a distance. 

“Hey guys, I found something at the bottom of the pond!” 

The officers then rushed over towards the direction of the voice and disappeared around the corner. Another one of the officers advanced towards Miranda with a very somber yet sympathetic expression on his face. 

“I’m so sorry for your loss, ma’am. We’ll let you know if we find anything in the autopsy.” 

“Thank you, sir,” Miranda sighed as she hugged her grandchildren tightly. 

Lena then buried her face into her grandmother’s shoulder and wept bitterly. Miranda hugged her back and nuzzled her tenderly. 

“It’s going to be okay, love. It’s going to be okay. We’re going to find out who did this to your mother, all right?” 

Lena and her siblings just kept on sobbing as they struggled to comprehend why their mother was now dead and who could have possibly wanted to hurt her in the first place. 

Meanwhile, Liam was hiding in the bushes several yards away as he watched the cops comb through the farmhouse for any more signs of incriminating evidence. 

“I better get the hell out of here. There’s no telling what else they might find. If they figure out that I was the one that shot Faye, then I’m a dead man. I can’t stay here any longer. It’s time that I left here for good.” 

He then vanished back into the bushes as he prepared to make his escape. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

JANUARY 23RD, 1946 

ST. THOMAS CATHOLIC CHURCH 

DUBLIN, IRELAND 

12:45 P.M. 

A couple of days later, Miranda and the rest of the Petrie/O’Malley clan held a funeral mass for Faye. The church was completely packed as thousands of people showed up to pay their respects. Miranda clung to her husband as she was wearing a black dress with a thin veil hanging over her face. Her eyes were bloodshot red from having cried so much over the last couple of days. 

Frank then kissed his wife on the head and held her as Miranda kept on sobbing. 

“I don’t know if I could do this, Frank.” 

“It’ll be all right, love,” Frank reassured her. “It’ll be all right.” 

Lena just remained silent as she stared blankly at her mother’s coffin, which was decorated with white lilies. The coffin was also open as Faye’s body lay perfectly still with her eyes now closed and she was wearing a white dress. 

The priest went up to the altar and cleared his throat to speak. He then looked up to face the congregation. 

“We are gathered here today to honor and remember Ms. Faye Arianna Petrie O’Malley as we welcome her into God’s kingdom…” 

The entire funeral service was a blur as the priest spoke his peace and then the coffin was closed shut. It was transported in a black hearse to the adjacent cemetery, where it would be buried. 

Faye’s surviving siblings, their parents and their kids then stood at Faye’s gravesite as they placed white roses on top of her coffin. They watched the coffin be lowered into the ground as the priest began reading more passages from the Bible. 

“And now as we commit this body into the earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust…” 

Lena and the kids started sobbing as they watched the coffin disappear into the ground and Lena lunged right for the coffin. 

“Mama, come back! Come back, Mama!” she wailed as Miranda grabbed her and held her. 

“Your mother is in Heaven now, sweetheart,” Miranda reminded her. 

“I don’t want her to be in Heaven, Grandma; I want her here with us,” Lena sniffled as she let out more sobs. 

Miranda then held her and comforted her as Lena continued to wail loudly. 

The funeral soon ended and everyone headed home, not sure how they were all going to move on with their lives now that Faye was gone. Miranda was also terrified that Liam might come back and take the kids with him so that he could flee Ireland for good. Sure enough, when she and the others had arrived back home after the funeral, Liam’s belongings and clothes were already gone, meaning that he had packed up his things and left. 

The Petries knew that Liam was now on the run and the authorities were quickly closing in on him, and after the autopsy had concluded that not only did Faye die as a result of a single gunshot wound to the chest, but that the rifle that was used to kill her was also the same weapon that was found at the lake, it was only a matter of time before Liam was found and charged with her murder. And that’s why he had to disappear. 

After that day, Lena and her siblings never went back to the farmhouse ever again. They ended up moving in with their grandparents and the rest of their extended family. For the next several weeks afterwards, Lena was bereaved and grief-stricken at the loss of her mother and she barely ate or slept. She didn’t even want to play with her siblings anymore and she would just lay in bed for several hours on end, staring up at the ceiling in silence. Her loved ones tried their best to be there for her and support her, but it still wasn’t enough. 

However, unbeknownst to everyone else, more significant changes were to come, and Lena was about to meet someone that would change the very course of her life forever. 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

FEBRUARY 15TH, 1945 

THE ROYAL KINGDOM OF ALAMANIA 

6:45 P.M. 

Meanwhile, in the royal parlor room, Sylvester was sitting in a big and comfy sofa chair next to a fireplace, reading the newspaper. Oftentimes after dinner with his family, he liked to retire to the parlor room and read up on current events. But one headline in particular caught his attention. 

DUBLIN POLICE STILL ON THE SEARCH FOR LOCAL IRISH FARMER SUSPECTED IN WIFE’S MURDER 

Sylvester then glanced over at a small photograph featured in the upper left hand corner of the article and saw that it was a picture of Faye. He then spotted a much bigger picture centered in the article that depicted a group of police officers surrounding the farmhouse as a pair of medical examiners brought out a body on a stretcher that was covered in a white plastic sheet. 

Sylvester recoiled in repulsion at the sight of his former lover’s body being plastered in various newspapers and magazines for all of the world to see. 

“Dreadful, isn’t it?” a male voice broke him out of his thoughts as Sylvester glanced up to see an elderly balding man with a mustachioed face approaching him with a silver tray of tea cups and a kettle. “That poor woman slaughtered in her very own home.” 

“It is indeed,” Sylvester nodded grimly as he grabbed the tea kettle and poured it into a cup. 

He then lifted the cup up to his lips and drank it slowly. 

“Say, sire, I do believe that the woman’s name sounds quite familiar to me. What was it? Um… Faylene…?” the manservant inquired. 

“Her name was Faye, Malcolm,” Sylvester replied smoothly as he continued drinking his tea. 

Malcolm then bowed in reverence as he set the tray down on a small red cushion seat. 

“Forgive my bluntness, Your Grace, but if I recall correctly, you informed me that she had a young daughter and you had good reason to believe that this child may have been yours. Are you going to try to lay a claim to her now that her mother is gone?” 

“I don’t see why I shouldn’t,” said Sylvester as he lowered his cup onto his lap. “Her so-called stepfather never gave a damn about her and he always viewed her as nothing more than an inconvenience.” 

“I’m going to fly over to Ireland as soon as I can and bring her over here before Liam comes back and whisks her away to America so that he can do God knows what to her. The poor girl has already been through enough and she deserves better.” 

“I couldn’t agree more, sire,” Malcolm concurred. 

Sylvester then finished drinking his tea and placed it back on the tray. 

“Malcolm, I want you to go and pack my things. We’re going on a little trip for a couple of days. We should be back by the end of the week.” 

“Yes, sire,” Malcolm bowed as he walked off with the tray. 

Sylvester then took out a cigar and lit it up as he took a long drag, pondering his next course of action. 

“I need to figure out how the hell I’m going to explain this to my wife and kids.” 

TLSTLSTLSTLS 

FEBRUARY 22ND, 1945 

PETRIE FAMILY RESIDENCE 

NEAR DUBLIN, IRELAND 

3:45 P.M. 

It was close to mid-afternoon as Lena finally decided that she wanted to go outside and play with her siblings and cousins. They were all running around chasing each other in a game of tag while Miranda watched them from her rocking chair. 

Just then a big and fancy horse carriage pulled up in front of the house and the doors swung open. Sylvester then emerged from the vehicle with Malcolm and advanced towards the house. Miranda then caught a glimpse of the two strange men approaching them and walked over to confront them. 

“Good sirs, may I ask what exactly brings you here to my property?” she hollered as she stopped and stood in their way defiantly. 

Sylvester then gawked at him with a befuddled and perplexed expression. 

“So I take it that you are the lady of the house?” 

“You got that right,” Miranda growled irascibly, crossing her arms. “Now what is it that you want?” 

“Ma’am, I am King Sylvester of Alamania. My father was King Leopold I and I am his successor. This is my manservant, Malcolm,” Sylvester introduced himself with a polite bow. 

Miranda nearly jumped upon hearing Sylvester’s name and realized that this was no ordinary stranger. This man was none other than Lena’s real father. 

“My name is Miranda Petrie. You must be the man that stole my daughter’s heart all of those years ago. I suspect that you are here for my granddaughter Lena.” 

“That indeed I am,” Sylvester replied pithily. “Do you mind if you would bring her over to me? I want to meet her in person.” 

Miranda then stared at Sylvester inquisitively for a moment before she relented and turned around to call out for Lena. 

“Lena, darling! There’s someone here I want you to meet!” 

“Coming, Grandma!” Lena bellowed back as she raced over to join her grandmother and skidded to a halt the minute her eyes met Sylvester’s. 

Lena then suddenly became quite nervous and shy as she struggled to utter a single word. 

“Um… H-H-Hi… M-M-My name is L-L-Lena…” 

“Hello, darling girl. It’s very nice to meet you,” Sylvester replied as he knelt down to meet her face level. “I am Sylvester Alamain, your real father.” 

Lena gasped as she stepped back in surprise and disbelief. 

“Y-You’re my real father?” 

“That’s right, honey,” Miranda nodded as she placed a hand on her shoulder. “He’s wanted to meet you for a very long time.” 

“Your father is here to invite you to come live with him,” Malcolm explained. 

“Live with him?” Lena balked as her eyes widened in astonishment as she turned to face Miranda. 

“But Grandma! I can’t go and live with him! I don’t want to leave you!” 

“I know, honey, but he’s your father and he does have the right to take you with him if he sees fit,” Miranda cooed softly as she embraced her lovingly. 

Lena then hugged her back and fought back tears as she looked on at her siblings anxiously. 

“I can’t leave. I don’t want to leave.” 

“Don’t worry, darling. I’ll make sure that you will get to write to your loved ones as often as possible. And they can also write to you whenever they want to,” Sylvester reassured her. “Is that okay?” 

Lena nodded reluctantly as she glanced back at her grandmother for reassurance. Miranda then nodded at her encouragingly and Lena sighed as she peered up at Sylvester. 

“C-Can I go say goodbye to the rest of my family?” 

“Of course, sweetheart,” said Sylvester with a gentle smile. 

Lena and Miranda then walked together to rejoin the rest of the family as Miranda called everyone together and gave them the big news. Sylvester then watched Aurora, Cayden and Ian balk in horror as Ian started yelling and screaming angrily at his grandmother while flailing his arms up in the air. 

Cayden just stared with a very blank and emotionless face and Aurora burst into tears and pleaded for Lena to not go. Lena then started bawling and wailing hysterically and she and her sister hugged and cried together. 

Sylvester then watched the entire family dissolve into tears of sorrow and agony and he started to wonder if this really was the best thing to do for his daughter. 

“What am I doing, Malcolm?” Sylvester murmured almost to himself. “I’m ripping this poor girl away from the only family she has ever known. She has just lost her mother. Am I even making the right decision here?” 

“You are her father. You must decide for yourself what is in her best interest,” Malcolm informed him with a calm and smooth voice. 

“It may be very hard and difficult for her to leave her family behind but if she stays here, she will never have any other future than being a farmer’s wife. And I’m sure that is not the kind of life you would want for her, sir.” 

“No it’s not,” Sylvester breathed deeply as it dawned on him what he must do. “I’m the one who is going to give her a better life. She will have the kind of future that she never otherwise would have if she remained here in Ireland.” 

He then straightened up his shoulders and exhaled sharply as he sauntered slowly over to the group. Miranda, Frank, Leslie, Carrie, and Frances were busy trying to console and soothe the distraught children. He and Miranda exchanged a knowing look as Miranda turned her attention back to the kids. 

“Come on now, little ones. Say your goodbyes to Lena.” 

“I’ll miss you, big sister,” Aurora sniffled as she and Lena hugged each other tightly. 

“So will I, ‘Ro,” Lena murmured back. 

“You won’t forget us, will you Lena?” Cayden asked. 

“Of course not, little brother. I’ll never forget you,” Lena smiled warmly. 

“Don’t forget your things, Lena,” Debbie added as she brought over a brown burlap sack containing Lena’s belongings. Lena then peeked inside and saw that the last Christmas presents that she had ever gotten from her mother were in there. 

“Thank you, Aunt Debbie,” she said as she swung it around her back. 

Debbie nodded as tears began to form in her eyes and she wiped them away. 

Lena then shared her final embrace with her loved ones before she walked away and followed Sylvester to the horse carriage. She and Sylvester then got into the vehicle and slammed the doors shut. 

Then a few moments later, the driver threw his whip at the horse’s backside as it let out a loud neigh and it dashed away from the house. Lena then watched the house disappear and fade away right before her very eyes as the carriage sped out of the village. 

Then as the vehicle headed eastbound out on the open dirt road in the countryside, she looked out the window and saw the ocean looming before her. Lena may not have realized it yet, but she had just embarked on the ultimate adventure of a lifetime. And this trip to Alamania would change the very course of her life forever.


End file.
